TURNING POINTS

There were several key hits for the Angels, but with Adam Kennedy on third and one out in the eighth, left-handed hitting Darin Erstad stepped to the plate against Yankee left-hander Mike Stanton and stroked a double to right field, giving the Angels their first lead of the night after trailing, 6-1, in the third inning.

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The Yankees quickly took the air out of the fans in Edison Field by scoring three runs in the top of the first off shaky Angel starter Ramon Ortiz. It appeared it would be a long night for the Angels, especially after the Yankees tacked on three more runs in the third to take a five-run lead.

*--* THE BIG PLAY

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*--* THE BIG LETDOWN

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*--* NOT IN THE BOX SCORE

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This was only the third time in the Yankees’ storied postseason history that they’ve blown a five-run lead and lost. In the 1956 World Series, the Brooklyn Dodgers overcame a 6-0 deficit to win Game 2. In the 1995 AL division series, the Seattle Mariners came back from a 5-0 deficit to win Game 4.

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*--* DID YOU NOTICE?

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The calm, cool and collected Yankees didn’t seem that way in Game 3. Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams had words with the plate umpire, and when the Angels took the lead in the eighth, the players in the Yankee dugout looked stunned. The Angels, not the Yankees, played like playoff veterans.