When postseason games are close, and particularly when they require extra innings to be decided, managerial decisions become increasingly salient. Game 3 between the Yankees and Angels was no exception, and the pinstripes’ Joe Girardi was taught a painful lesson by the Halos’ Mike Scioscia.
Each team scored four times in the first nine innings, and seven of the eight runs came on home runs. The Yankees had a 3-0 lead midway through the contest thanks to solo shots by Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon off a struggling Jered Weaver.
But New York quickly saw that edge evaporate, when Howie Kendrick got to Andy Pettitte with a solo homer in the fifth, and Vladimir Guerrero followed with a two-run job in the sixth. The Angels plated another run against Joba Chamberlain in the seventh, putting the pinstripes on the ropes with six outs to play.
That’s when Girardi decided to take matters into his own hands.
Hideki Matsui led off the eighth inning with a walk. The next batter, Jorge Posada, hit a bomb over the center-field fence, giving New York a 5-4 lead – or rather, it would have, if Girardi hadn’t decided to pinch run for Matsui with speedster Brett Gardner. Unfortunately, Gardner was caught stealing second on a pitchout during Posada’s at-bat on a perfect throw by catcher Jeff Mathis. Mathis had just entered the game to supplant Mike Napoli (who had been pulled for a pinch hitter) and immediately made his presence felt. Instead of giving the Yankees the lead, Posada’s blast merely tied the game at four apiece.
Scioscia 1, Girardi 0.
Fast-forward to the bottom of the 10th inning, with Phil Hughes on the mound for the Yankees. Leading off the inning, Mathis — a lowly .211/.288/.308 hitter during the regular season — drilled a double to left-center, once again validating his manager’s trust. With the winning run in scoring position, Girardi was forced to use Mariano Rivera, who did his best Houdini impression to escape the jam without allowing a run.
But there was an asterisk on that tightrope act as well – because with Mathis at third and one out, Girardi replaced left fielder Johnny Damon with Jerry Hairston Jr., who had previously pinch hit for Gardner and taken over the designated hitter spot, to get a better arm in the outfield in case of a potential run-scoring flyball. That move eliminated the designated hitter from the Yankees’ lineup, and inserted the pitcher Rivera into Damon’s No. 2 hole. It ended up being inconsequential, because Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero both grounded out, but Girardi essentially wasted two bench players and lost a valuable lineup spot in the process.
Scioscia 2, Girardi 0.
Moving along to the 11th, with two out and nobody on in the top half of the inning, Girardi elected to have backup catcher Francisco Cervelli — who had one home run in 94 at-bats this season — pinch hit for Rivera, who had thrown 17 pitches. Cervelli whiffed badly to end the frame, and now there were a few new issues for the Yankees’ skipper to deal with. Rivera could not return to the mound. One-tool speedster Freddy Guzman and the banged-up Jose Molina were the two remaining reserves. And only David Robertson, Alfredo Aceves, and Chad Gaudin were left in the bullpen.
Girardi elected to give the ball to Robertson, who was 2-0 and had yet to allow a run in the postseason, and the rookie responded by retiring Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales. Then, he was bizarrely removed from the game in favor of Aceves. The decision was perplexing before Aceves even threw a pitch because the pinstripes were now left with just one more reliever (Gaudin), and the pitcher’s spot was in the batting order. But after Howie Kendrick (the batter Girardi felt Robertson couldn’t retire, but Aceves would) singled to center, it became downright troubling.
And when the next hitter, that pesky Jeff Mathis, stroked his second double of the game to left-center, allowing Kendrick to come around and score the winning run, Girardi’s managerial blunders soared into the spotlight for the millions watching nationwide to see.
The runs column for Game 3 of the ALCS read Angels 5, Yankees 4. But the score that determined the outcome of the contest was Scioscia 3, Girardi 0. And if Girardi’s team is unable to recover and win Game 4, making this Los Angeles victory a turning point in the series, the pinstripes’ skipper should carry the blame.
