2010 MLB American League Division Series Wrap-Up
The 2010 MLB postseason got underway last Wednesday with the league division series. In the American League the East division champion Tampa Rays took on the West champion Texas Rangers and the Central division champion Minnesota Twins faced off against the wildcard New York Yankees.
Tampa hardly looked like a team that averaged 4.95 runs per game in the regular season in its first two games of its series with the Rangers. Texas left-hander Cliff Lee struck out 10 in a 5-1 victory in Game 1 as the Rays managed six hits but only one run in the loss. Controversy ensued in Game 2 after a questionable call on a check swing by the Rangers Michael Young, that would have ended the inning, allowed him another swing that resulted in a three-run blast to break the game wide open. This call aside, Tampa failed to muster any offense in the 6-0 loss.
The Rays’ bats finally came to life on the road as they pounded out a couple of key runs in the eighth and ninth innings to take Game 3 by the score of 6-3. They followed this up with a 5-2 victory in Game 4 behind the bat of Evan Longoria. He started a fourth inning rally with a lead-off double and added a two-run homer in the fifth to help Tampa even the series at two games apiece.
A deciding Game 5 this Tuesday night in Tampa will feature a rematch between a couple of dueling left-handers that faced off against one another in Game 1. The Rays will go with David Price, while the Rangers will counter with Cliff Lee.
New York entered the postseason in the unfamiliar role of the wildcard team, but played like a champion in its three game sweep of Minnesota. The Yankees continued their dominance over the Twins in the postseason by extending their winning streak to nine games; the longest active one between any two teams in the Majors. Mark Teixeira’s two-run homer in Game 1 put the Yankees up for good in the 6-4 victory. DH Lance Berman was the hero for New York in Game 2 with a homer and double that produced the go-ahead run in a 5-2 win.
These two wins on the road set the stage for a triumphant return home and a chance for the sweep in Game 3. New York did not disappoint the home-town crowd, jumping out to a five run lead in the fourth inning that it never relinquished. Phil Hughes, in his first career postseason start, held the Twins to seven hits and one run on his way to the 6-1 series-clinching win.
The Yankees will now face the winner of the Rays-Rangers series in the ALCS. This was the first time in history that New York advanced to the league championship series as a wildcard team.
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