Angels giving Yankees a devil of a time

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The Yankees had baseball’s best record during the regular season. And their roster includes a pitcher who tied for the major league lead in wins (CC Sabathia) and a hitter who led the American League in RBIs and tied for the league lead in homers (Mark Teixeira).

But if that left some people believing the Yankees would roll over the Angels in the American League Championship Series, no one in the New York clubhouse was buying it.

‘You have to play 27 outs. We know that,’ said Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez, who has four home runs this postseason. ‘And we know that they’re a tough team. In a series like this, there’s opportunities that go back and forth.’

Added outfielder Johnny Damon, who also homered in the Yankees’ extra-inning loss Monday: ‘They’re not going to roll over for us. They’ve got a very good team. And they feel like they’re the best out there. And when you have that thought, it can take you a long ways. This is a very tough Angels ballclub.’

Which may explain why Manager Joe Girardi is playing every game as if it’s his last. In the last two games, which the teams split, Girardi has used 41 players, including 16 pitchers and three pinch-runners.

‘This is the type of series we expected it to be,’ he said. ‘We’ve had two extra-inning games out of three games. They’ve been hard-fought games.’

-- Kevin Baxter