8 Run 8th Sinks Yanks

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
N.Y. Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1		4	11	1
LA Angels	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	8	X		11	14	0

And the game started off so promising too. I think that's what really hurt about today; it was a game that gave you hope and then kicked you in the balls.

The Yankees were leading 3-1 in the 7th after Dan Giese pitched six very strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out five. You couldn't have asked for anything more from Giese, he was great. And as a fan you were hoping that the Yanks could tie the series, and maybe take two out of three from the Angels, in Anaheim. But then the bullpen came in and all hell broke loose.

Jose Veras pitched the 7th, and gave up a leadoff solo homer to Garret Anderson. Two batters later Mike Napoli tied the game with another solo homer. Veras allowed another hit and a walk, but got out of the 7 with the game still tied.

Then, for some reason, Girardi brought in Edwar Ramirez to face the meat of the Angels' order, the same hitters who beat him up last weekend in the Bronx. On the first pitch he threw Vlad Guerrero mashed a homer, and it just got worse from there. They would eventually score seven more times in the inning; five of the runs (four earned) pff Ramirez, who did not record an out, and the other three off of David Robertson.

In two innings pitched the Yankees bullpen allowed 10 runs (9 earned) on 11 hits and a walk. When asked by a reporter how it felt to watch the inning unfold Joe Girardi said, “What do you think? You think it’s fun watching that crap?”

	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Giese	6.0	3	1	1	1	5	1	2.35
Veras (BS, 2)	1.0	3	2	2	1	1	2	2.92
Ramirez (L, 3-1)	0.0	4	5	4	0	0	1	3.89
Robertson	1.0	4	3	3	0	2	0	6.75

ANGELS PITCHING

Alex Rodriguez got the Yankees on the board with a solo homer in the sixth. That was followed by a Jason Giambi solo shot, and the Yanks led 2-0.

They added another run in the 7th on a Johnny Damon RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. Derek Jeter then bunted, and the Yankees had 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. But Bobby Abreu grounded out to the drawn-in infield, and A-Rod struck out.

Some people have been complaining about the bunt here, they think it was a "rally killer." But I don't have a problem with it. A rally killer would have been if Jeter hit into a double play, which he has a team-leading 18 times this year. And with 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, and your three and four hitters coming up, you should score a couple runs.

With the score 11-3 the Yankees added a meaningless run in the 9th on a Jeter sac-fly.

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	5	0	2	1	0	0	2	.321
Jeter, SS	3	0	1	1	0	2	2	.285
Abreu, RF	5	0	0	0	0	0	4	.287
Rodriguez, A, 3B	3	1	1	1	1	1	2	.312
Giambi, 1B	3	1	1	1	0	1	0	.253
Nady, LF	3	0	1	0	0	1	2	.335
Cano, 2B	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.266
Rodriguez, I, C	4	2	2	0	0	1	0	.294
Cabrera, CF	4	0	3	0	0	0	0	.245
Totals	34	4	11	4	1	6	14
BATTING HR: Rodriguez, A (26, 6th inning off Lackey, 0 on, 1 out), Giambi (23, 6th inning off Lackey, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Damon 2; Jeter; Rodriguez, A 4; Giambi 4; Nady; Rodriguez, I 2; Cabrera 3. RBI: Rodriguez, A (69), Giambi (67), Damon (50), Jeter (56). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Nady; Jeter; Rodriguez, A. S: Jeter. SF: Jeter. GIDP: Cano. Team LOB: 8.

ANGELS OFFENSE

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Dan Giese (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)

HONORABLE MENTION: Garret Anderson (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R)

GOATS OF THE GAME: Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez, and David Robertson.

The Yanks send Andy Pettitte to the mound tomorrow afternoon, looking to salvage the final game of this three-game series. And the Yankees' hitters will be dealing with 14 game winner Joe Saunders. Game Time: 3:35 p.m. - TV: YES - Radio: WCBS 880