Angels Get Waved Home on Final Day

By Mike DiGiovanna

Oct. 3, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas —

What seemed virtually impossible four days ago became a reality Sunday afternoon when the Angels snagged home-field advantage for their American League division series against the New York Yankees.

The Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers at Ameriquest Field, combined with the Yankees’ 10-1 loss in Boston, left the Angels and Yankees with 95-67 records, but the Angels, by virtue of their 6-4 edge in the season series against the Yankees, gained the tiebreaker and will play host to Game 1 Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.

“It ain’t like football, but yeah, it means a lot to us,” Angel shortstop Orlando Cabrera said. “Any time you get to play on your home field with 45,000 people rooting for you, it’s very important. A lot of our players have better numbers at home, so that’s going to help us a lot.”

The Angels did not set out to win home-field advantage after clinching the AL West last Tuesday in Oakland. Resting the starters, aligning the playoff rotation and regulating the relievers topped Manager Mike Scioscia’s priority list.

But the Angels managed to do all that and sweep a three-game set from the Rangers with a mixture of front-line players and reserves, and when the Yankees lost two of three to the Red Sox and the Indians were swept by the White Sox and eliminated, it all fell together for the Angels, who won 14 of their last 16 regular-season games.

“Considering what we had to balance and what our priorities were, the guys did a heck of a job,” Scioscia said. “We accomplished what we wanted, to get guys rested, and we also got home field. Everything had to fall in place perfectly, and it did.”

Juan Rivera’s three-run home run in the fourth inning Sunday erased a 4-1 deficit, and the Angels scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to pull away.

Brendan Donnelly, Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez each added scoreless innings in relief of starter Ervin Santana, Rodriguez gaining his 45th save to tie Cleveland’s Bob Wickman for the league lead.

Now, the Angels can turn their attention to the Yankees, who have a collection of mashers -- led by Alex Rodriguez (48 homers, 130 runs batted in), Gary Sheffield (34 homers, 123 RBIs), Hideki Matsui (23 homers, 116 RBIs) and Jason Giambi (32 homers, 87 RBIs) -- and scored 125 more runs than the Angels this season.

“They’re deep, and you have to really keep making pitches and play good defense to beat them,” Scioscia said. “There’s no breather in their lineup, but if our guys keep getting the ball in good zones, we’ll have a chance to do what we need to do.”

Angel ace Bartolo Colon will start Game 1 against Yankee right-hander Mike Mussina, and Angel right-hander John Lackey will oppose either Chien-Ming Wang or Shawn Chacon in Game 2 Wednesday in Angel Stadium.

Angel left-hander Jarrod Washburn is expected to start Game 3 against Randy Johnson on Friday in Yankee Stadium, and either Santana or Paul Byrd will start Game 4, if necessary, against either Wang or Chacon.

The Angels are the only team with a winning record (49-48) against the Yankees since 1996, but their last visit to New York produced two of their more gut-wrenching losses of the season.

On July 30, the Angels took a 7-3 lead in the top of the eighth, only to give up two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth, Francisco Rodriguez walking in one run and giving up Matsui’s two-run double to take the 8-7 loss.

The next day, the Angels took a 6-2 lead in the eighth and gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth, a rally aided by a rare error by first baseman Darin Erstad. The teams traded runs in the 10th, and the Yankees won, 8-7, in 11.

The Angels won two of three in Yankee Stadium in April, but in the April 26 series opener, a 12-4 Yankee win, Alex Rodriguez blasted three home runs and drove in 10 runs, all three homers coming against Colon. Rodriguez is a career .442 hitter with seven homers and 16 RBIs against Colon.

A deeper relief corps should give the Angels a bullpen edge -- the Yankees have struggled all season to find consistent relief in front of closer Mariano Rivera -- and because Johnson threw 123 pitches Saturday against Boston, the 6-foot-10 left-hander will start only once in the five-game series.

“If there’s one thing they’ve had issues with it’s their starting pitching, but they got great contributions from guys to get to the playoffs,” Scioscia said. “Any time you have a Randy Johnson, a guy with big-game and postseason experience, you play good defense and have a veteran, deep lineup, you’re going to be a challenge.”

Angels vs. New York

Best-of-five American League division series, with pitching matchups for first three games:

* GAME 1: ANGEL STADIUM

Tuesday, 5:15 p.m., Channel 11

Mike Mussina, New York, 13-8

Bartolo Colon, Angels, 21-8

* GAME 2: ANGEL STADIUM

Wednesday, 7 p.m., ESPN

Shawn Chacon, New York, 7-3

or Chien-Ming Wang, 8-5

John Lackey, Angels, 14-5

* GAME 3: NEW YORK