ALCS Game 3: Godzilla

After the two starting pitching performances the Yankees got from CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes in Games 1 & 2 in Arlington, they are lucky to be heading into tonight's game with the series all squared at one game apiece.

The Bombers will face a severe uphill climb this evening as they will be squaring off against a man with the raw power of Randy Johnson, the stamina of Old Hoss Radbourn, the heart of Jack Morris, the guile of Whitey Ford, the gusto of Pedro Martinez, the control of Greg Maddux and the soul of Satchel Page. Ladies and gentlemen, I could only be referring to the legendary, the unstoppable, the untouchable, and the immortal Cliff Lee.

There isn't a pitcher on Earth that a team would rather have starting a playoff game for them right now ahead of Lee except for maybe Roy Halladay, who oh-by-the-way gave up four earned runs en route to a Phillies' loss on Saturday night in what was supposed to be the greatest and most epic playoff pitching duel of all-fucking-time. Yes, the man who threw the second no-hitter in postseason history in the NLDS followed it up with somewhat of a dud against a pretty marginal lineup his next time out. A pitcher's duel not living up to expectations? Unheard of!

In all seriousness, the Yankees are going to need a strong effort from Andy Pettitte and a much better offensive output than either game they played in Texas. That means getting some runs on the board early instead of spotting the Rangers five and trying to pull an eighth inning underwater straight jacket escape like they are David Blaine or some shit. It was great when it worked on Friday night, but as we saw on Saturday afternoon, the stars don't always align when attempting to make up a five run deficit with your last six outs.

Of course, getting those early runs on the board is going to be the tough part. What makes Lee so tough is that he constantly throws strikes. He hasn't walked anyone in two starts this postseason and gave up only 18 free passes in 212 innings in regular season play, which, unsurprisingly, led the Major Leagues. The Yanks generally try to work the count and let pitchers put them on base, but employing that approach against guys who pepper the strike zone relentlessly will just get you behind in the count.

To get to Lee, the Yankees are going to have to do so with their bats and not their eyes. Baserunners will need to come in the form of hits. If they are to run up his pitch count, they'll need to do it primarily by fouling pitches off. Lee doesn't do much to hurt himself, so like Marcus Thames told Jack Curry, the Bombers need pounce on the mistakes that Lee does make.

All of this is easier said than done of course, but the Yankees have the most potent lineup in the game and therefore should have as good a chance as any team at knocking off the mythical beast that is Cliff Lee and regaining the edge in the series.

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound,
He pulls the spitting high tension wires down.
Helpless people on subway trains,
Scream for God as he looks in on them.
He picks up a bus and he throws it back down,
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town.

Oh no, they say he's got to go—
Go, go, Godzilla..

Oh no, there goes Tokyo—

Go, go, Godzilla...

-Lineups-

Yankees: With a left hander on the mound, the Game 1 lineup makes a return.

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Jorge Posada C
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

Andy Pettitte LHP

Rangers: Francoeur has good numbers against Pettitte in 11 career ABs, so Ron Washington is giving him the start in right field. Bengie Molina and Mitch Moreland get to keep their spots are each driving in a run in Game 2.

Elvis Andrus SS
Michael Young 3B
Josh Hamilton CF
Vlad Guerrero DH
Nelson Cruz LF
Ian Kinsler 2B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Bengie Molina C
Mitch Moreland 1B

Cliff Lee LHP

Game 5 Recap

[WPA data via FanGraphs]

1. The Yanks put runners on first and second with one out for Derek Jeter in the 3rd inning but Jeter rapped into a double play. It was the biggest shift in WPA in the game at the time but didn't end up mattering much.

2. With the game still scoreless in the top of the 4th, Mark Teixeira worked a six pitch walk from Wade Davis. After A-Rod popped out to just behind second base and slammed his bat to the ground in disgust, Robinson Cano launched a 1-1 fastball from Davis into the right field seats, 2-0 Yanks. As he did with his first homer in Fenway, Cano dropped his lumber and took a moment to admire his handiwork. I can't blame him, but I'm guessing that's the kind of thing opposing pitchers don't take too kindly to.

3. In the 5th, the Yankees plated another two runs but went with a small ball approach instead. Brett Gardner led off with a single and was moved over to 2nd by a well-placed bunt off the bat of Francisco Cervelli that was almost good enough for a hit. Jeter then flipped a single to center, scoring Gardner. Two batters latter Teixeira finally got his first hit of the season, driving in Jeter to put the Yanks up 4-0.

4. CC Sabathia was perfect through 4 innings but allowed a leadoff walk to Evan Longoria to begin the 5th, lowering his best case scenario to a no-hitter.

5. The tension of the possible no-no began to mount in the 6th inning. Kelly Shoppach hit a sharp line drive to left field which Brett Gardner was in good position to field for the first out. With two down, Jason Bartlett battled through a 7 pitch at bat, fouling off three before being robbed of a base hit by a diving Mark Teixeira.

6. Carl Crawford walked to leadoff the 7th. Next, in a rather odd play, Ben Zobrist bounced one back at Sabathia and the big fella threw a little wide of second. Crawford arrived in time but overslid the bag and a heads up Cano was right there to apply the tag. Technically, he was safe and then made a base running error but the play was ruled a fielder's choice. Either way, the no-hitter was still intact. Upton was at the plate next and ripped a line drive right at third base but A-Rod made a diving stab, popped to his feet and threw a frozen rope to nail Upton at first. Inning over.

7. The Yanks blew the game open in the 8th, which wasn't exactly good for Sabathia. He was at 100 pitches and although any pitcher would enjoy four additional runs of support, it took the Yanks almost 20 minutes to tally them up and the anxiety of wanting to complete a no-hitter probably made it feel like even longer. 8-0, Yanks.

8. To begin the bottom of the 8th, Willy Aybar hit a bouncer up the middle that Sabathia deflected with his pitching hand. It bounced towards Cano who made the play in stride. One away. Next, Pat Burrell lofted a high fly to center. Two down. With Sabathia 109 pitches deep, Kelly Shoppach came to the plate and flailed at a first pitch change up. The crowd urged the big lefty on, but on the next pitch, Shoppach lined one to left field in front of Gardner, breaking up the no-hit bid. Joe Girardi immediately popped out of the dugout to remove Sabathia and CC was greeted with a standing ovation on his way back to the dugout.

9. The Yanks tagged on two more runs in the top of the 9th and David Robertson, who took over for CC in the 8th - got the final three outs. Yanks 10, Rays 0. Fin.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• Clearly, the story of the game was Sabathia's performance. The Yankees haven't had a no-hitter since David Cone's perfect game back in 1999 and every time a pitcher gets close, the game, no matter how out of hand, becomes highly captivating. This was about as much fun to watch as an early season game gets.
  
  
• Sabathia also made a slick play on a ball hit by Carl Crawford in the 4th. On a grounder back up the middle, CC's follow through left his glove hanging in the right place at the right time. He was able to snag it gracefully and throw to first seemingly before Crawford even got out of the box.
  
  
• The Cervelli-Sabathia tandem got off to a great start least year as well, combining for a complete game shutout in Baltimore.
  
  
• Cervelli also contributed offensively as well, knocking in a two-run double during the Yanks' onslaught in the 8th.
  
  
• When the no-hitter was broken up, Old Hoss Radbourn informed the Twitterverse what he would do under similar circumstances.

The series finale is tomorrow at 1:40.