When was the last time the Yankees beat the baseball Angels in a series in Anaheim?”
The last time the Yankees won a series against the Angels in Angels Stadium was back in May of 2004. A.J. Burnett was a member of the Florida Marlins at that time. With the series tied at one a piece and the Yankees fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs, Burnett took the ball and was ready to deliver his second straight quality performance. If Wednesday was any indication of what the Yankees are going to get from Burnett in October, it will leave the team with a ton of confidence and hope. Burnett went 5 2/3 innings, allowed seven hits and two runs and struck out 11 Angels batters in a dominating performance. Burnett left runners on with two outs and Joe Girardi took Burnett out, but he didn’t want to come out of the game. After 101 pitches, Girardi had to take him out and let the bullpen finish it. Damaso Marte came into the sixth and got the final out to keep the game at 3-2 Yankees. The Yankees scored all their runs in the top of the fourth off Scott Kazmir with a two-ru
The Yankees were in no position to celebrate when the Texas Rangers’ loss to Oakland clinched New York’s return to the postseason. Brett Gardner and his teammates were too busy blowing a five-run lead over the Angels at the time. A ninth-inning rally keyed by a player with no postseason resume made certain the Yankees didn’t back through a door that was slammed in their faces last fall. Gardner singled, stole second base on a pitchout and scored the tiebreaking run on Alex Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly in the ninth, and the Yankees secured their 14th playoff appearance in 15 seasons Tuesday night with a 6-5 victory over Los Angeles. Rodriguez homered and drove in three runs before Mariano Rivera earned his 41st save for the Yankees, who were guaranteed a return to the postseason about 55 minutes before the last out in Anaheim when the Athletics finished Texas 9-1. “You always want to get something like this by shaking hands at the end of it,” Rodriguez said. “(No big) celebration, just sha
