#4 10/5/02 – Anaheim Stadium - 2002 ALDS Victory over the Yankees

When the Angels clinched the Wild Card in 2002, they were pitted against the mighty New York Yankees – the most successful franchise in history, and winners of 103 games. As expected, the Bronx Bombers took the opener, rallying for four runs in the bottom of the eighth to win 8-5 on the strength of four bombs – including Bernie Williams’s three run blast to win it.

The next night was another slugfest. Tim Salmon slugged a home run in the first. Scott Spiezio followed suit with another solo shot in the second. A trio of singles by Wooten, Molina, and Gil added another run. Spiezio then singled in Anderson in the third to give the Angels a 4-0 lead off Andy Pettitte. The Yankees clawed back with a run in the third, two in the fourth, and two more in the sixth to take a 5-4 lead. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees had never lost a postseason game at Yankee Stadium when leading after the seventh inning. Evidently, nobody bothered to tell the Angels. Anderson tied it with a blast to lead off the eighth. Glaus put the Angels in front again with his third homer of the series. Before the inning was over, pinch runner Chone Figgins scored on Adam Kennedy’s sacrifice fly. The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, but this time Scioscia went to his closer, Troy Percival, who struck out Jeter looking to end the threat. Both teams traded runs in the ninth, but ultimately, “Percy” got his first postseason save, preserving Frankie Rodriguez’s first ML win, 8-6.

For Game 3, it was back to Anaheim. The Yankees jumped out to an early lead against Angel hurler Ramon Ortiz, tagging him for three runs in the first. The Angels scored a run in the second, but the Yankees ripped out three more runs in the third to take a 6-1 lead. That’s when the Angels got to work. In the bottom of the inning, Salmon drove home Kennedy and Erstad with a double to left to pull the Halos within three. Kennedy narrowed the gap further by smacking a home run in the fourth and driving in Brad Fulmer with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. In the seventh, the Angels showed that they meant business – monkey business. Amid wild shrieks from both the Monkey and delirious fans, Spiezio lifted a single to center, just over Alfonso Soriano’s glove, to score Anderson with the tying run. In the eighth, Kennedy blooped a leadoff double off the glove of Raul Mondesi. Eckstein bunted him to third. Then the crowd reached a fever pitch as Darin Erstad lined a 1-2 pitch over Jason Giambi’s head to take the lead. Tim Salmon’s two run blast on the very next pitch was icing on the cake as the Angels won 9-6. Naturally, the winning pitcher was again K-Rod, who struck out four Yanks in two perfect innings of relief.

When the Angels faced the New York Yankees for Game 4, they were one win away from winning their first postseason series. Six times, the Angels had been in that situation, and all six times, they’d managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. How did the Angels respond?

Jarrod Washburn, their ace, allowed two runs (one earned) over the first five innings. Down 2-1 as they entered their half of the fifth, the Angels put together one of the greatest innings in postseason history!

Facing David Wells, who entered the game with a stellar postseason record of 8-1, Shawn Wooten bashed a homer to left-center to tie the game. Bengie Molina flied out to right. Benji Gil singled to center. David Eckstein dropped a single into right. Darin Erstad drilled a single to center, scoring Gil. Tim Salmon ripped a single to left, scoring Eckstein. Garret Anderson drove a single to center, scoring Erstad. Troy Glaus hit a fly ball to shallow right – two down. Scott Spiezio singled to left, scoring Salmon. Wooten smacked a single to right, scoring Garret. Molina doubled to left, scoring both Spiezio and Wooten. Gil singled to center, and Eckstein flied out to center, finally ending the inning.

When all was said and done, the Angels had scored 8 runs on a record tying 10 hits in the inning to take a 9-2 lead. It was all they would need. The Yankees scored three more, to pull within 9-5, but the famine was finally over with that one inning feast. The Angels had won the first postseason series of their 42 year existence! Better yet, the Angels, whose .376 batting average in the series set a postseason record, had proved to themselves and the world what they were capable of. That mindset would establish the tone for the heroics that were yet to come.