They were going to the World Series. The Yankees had answered their nemesis with a rally even the Angels' famed monkey couldn't have dreamed up, stunning the Anaheim crowd with six runs in the top of the seventh.
Now all the Yankees had to do was secure the final nine outs and prepare for a week of adulation back home in New York in advance of their first World Series trip since 2003.
But A.J. Burnett came out for the bottom of the seventh instead of one of the Yankees' vaunted relievers.
Then the seemingly invincible Phil Hughes again looked as rattled by the postseason as he had been unhittable most of the summer.
And one more New York rally fell short in the ninth, and suddenly the Yankees had lost Game 5 of the AL Championship Series, 7-6. The stunned Yankees would have to head home to tons of questions and flashbacks not to 2003, but the year after that, which none of them would like to remember.
Because the last thing a team that had held a 3-1 series lead needs to think about is how it once blew a 3-0 series lead.
"There's a lot of them, I can tell you that," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said with a tired smile when asked about his emotions in the back-and-forth game. "Any time you have a chance to close out the series and you don't win, no matter what the score is, it's a missed opportunity."
The Yankees seemed to have banished the last of their prior postseason demons with the six-run seventh, but Burnett faltered on the first two hitters of the seventh. Hughes left a 1-2 fastball over the plate to Vladimir Guerrero, who tied the score, and Kendry Morales put the Angels ahead.
The players in the quiet New York clubhouse displayed the frustration of that missed opportunity along with the determination to remember they still lead the series 3-2.
"It's tough to watch because your team just came back after you've been battling the whole game and gave me a lead and first batter (got a) hit, next batter walked," Burnett said. "I mean, it's frustrating."
So instead of wrapping up the series, the Yankees will return to the Bronx and turn to Andy Pettitte in hopes he can close it out. If not, the Yankees could have repercussions beyond this series, as they would have to use ace CC Sabathia in Game 7 rather than save him for Game 1 of a potential World Series.
Of course, that is no longer a concern the Yankees have the luxury of thinking about at this point. Instead they'll have their hands full with what's suddenly turned into an interesting and challenging series.
"We've been able to get off the carpet or the mat or whatever you want to say and come back and won a game," Girardi said. "We had a tough loss on Monday, came out and played a great game on Tuesday, tough loss (Thursday), and we'll see what happens on Saturday."
ANGELS 7, YANKEES 6: The Yankees blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh after scoring six runs in the top of the inning, then left the bases loaded in the ninth, forcing a Game 6 on Saturday back in New York. Nick Swisher popped up to end the game.
With the Yankees seven outs from their first World Series berth since 2003, Phil Hughes allowed two-out RBI singles to Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales, and the Angels completed a three-run rally after New York stunned them in the top of the inning.
After getting shut out by Angels starter John Lackey for six innings, the Yankees mounted a two-out rally against Lackey — who was upset with a ball-four call on a borderline pitch to Jorge Posada and more upset with manager Mike Scioscia for lifting him for Darren Oliver.
Mark Teixeria hit a three-run double to greet Oliver, and Robinson Cano later tripled to fuel the Yankees' attack and complete the rally from the 4-0 deficit the Angels had put on A.J. Burnett in the first inning.
In the ninth, the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs, but closer Brian Fuentes retired Swisher on a 3-2 pitch.
NOTES, QUOTES
—1B Mark Teixeira drove in his first runs of the AL Championship Series and notched his first hit with runners in scoring position this postseason at a crucial time. Teixeira's two-out, three-run double put the Yankees on the board and catapulted them to a six-run inning that gave them a 6-4 lead Thursday night. "I was just looking for something out over the plate, and I got a slider out over the plate and I just put a good swing on it," said Teixeira, who admitted he was relieved to see LHP Darren Oliver replace RHP John Lackey before his at-bat. "You're always glad to see Lackey leaving the game. He's a good pitcher."
—LHP Andy Pettitte said his extensive postseason experience will only help him so much when he takes the mound Saturday night for Game 6.
"All that experience is not gonna help me when I go out there in the first inning and help my pitches be where they need to be," Pettitte said. "Hopefully it's just there."
While Pettitte has an often deserved reputation as a big-game pitcher in the postseason, he also has a history of throwing either gems or clunkers, especially in his Game 6 starts. Pettitte allowed six earned runs in two innings in the 2001 World Series to force a Game 7. He also gave up four runs in five innings against the Red Sox in the '03 AL Championship Series but yielded one earned run in seven innings in a Game 6 World Series loss to Josh Beckett and the Marlins the same year.
—LHP Damaso Marte has somehow earned manager Joe Girardi's trust this postseason despite struggling through inefficiency and injury in the regular season. With runners on first and second and no outs in the bottom of the seventh and Girardi needing a lefty to turn around Chone Figgins and face Bobby Abreu, the manager called on Marte and not LHP Phil Coke. Marte got the job done, retiring Figgins on a bunt and Abreu on an RBI groundout. He left with the Yankees still up a run, but RHP Phil Hughes allowed the Angels to tie the game and take the lead.
BY THE NUMBERS: 3 — Earned runs RHP Phil Hughes has allowed in 4 2/3 innings of relief this postseason. He gave up eight in 51 1/3 innings out of the bullpen in the regular season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It was fun to be up in that situation, but it's not fun when you don't come through." — RF Nick Swisher, on popping up to end the game with the bases loaded and the Yankees trailing by one.
ROSTER REPORT
—RHP A.J. Burnett's ability to rebound from a four-run first inning and throw five shutout
innings after that convinced manager Joe Girardi to keep him in the game in the fateful seventh inning. Burnett then allowed a single and a walk to start the inning that ended with the Angels scoring three runs to answer the Yankees' six in the top of the seventh. "Yeah, we talked about (going to the bullpen), but he was throwing the ball so well," Girardi said. "He'd thrown five shutout innings, he'd only thrown 80 pitches, and we just liked what we saw from him and we just stuck with him. ... If he's around 105 pitches, it's probably a different story, but his pitch count was low, and we stuck with him."
—OF Freddy Guzman pinch-ran for 3B Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning in a questionable move that could have exposed manager Joe Girardi to plenty of scrutiny if the Yankees had tied the game and gone to extra innings in the road game. If Rodriguez's spot came up in the order again, the Yankees would have been without a hitter on one of the most impressive postseason streaks of all time. Girardi also replaced No. 5 hitter Hideki Matsui for PR Brett Gardner, who came on after Matsui followed Rodriguez's intentional walk with an unintentional one. Both Guzman and Gardner were left on base when the game ended.
—RF Nick Swisher had hoped to erase the memory of his postseason struggles by getting a hit that could have sent the Yankees to the World Series in the ninth inning of Game 5, but he added to his frustration with a game-ending popup with the bases loaded. The Yankees lost 7-6. "I was just trying to calm down as much as I could (in) such a big situation like that," said Swisher, who went 0-for-5 and has three hits in 29 at-bats in the playoffs this year. "My postseason hasn't exactly gone the way I wanted it to, so I wanted to try to do my best to come through in the clutch for us, but it just didn't happen."
Swisher grinded out a seven-pitch at-bat against LHP Brian Fuentes, rallying from an 0-2 count to 3-2 before popping out.
"It was fun to be up in that situation," he said, "but it's not fun when you don't come through."
—RHP Phil Hughes said he wouldn't let his loss in a game that could have clinched a World Series berth affect his confidence for Game 6. However, he did take responsibility for the defeat after allowing a game-tying single to Vladimir Guerrero and a go-ahead single by Kendry Morales with two outs in the seventh — after the Yankees scored six in the top of the inning.
"Very disappointing," he said. "We did a great job tonight to fight and get back in the game, and I just had one out to get. And I just couldn't do it. ... Just disappointing for us to get back in the game and to blow it on my shoulders.
Manager Joe Girardi said he expected improvement from Hughes, who left a 1-2 fastball over the plate to notoriously undisciplined hitter Guerrero. Hughes has allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings this postseason.
"He's been doing it for us all year, and we believe that he's going to get it done," Girardi said.
MEDICAL WATCH:
RHP Chien-Ming Wang (right shoulder strain and bursitis) went on the 15-day disabled list July 5, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 31. He had season-ending surgery July 29.
OF Xavier Nady (sore right elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 15, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 21. He began a rehab assignment with Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 24, but he experienced a setback June 25. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery July 8.
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