Nice finish to the season, Randy. Wonderful of you to help the Yankees clinch their eighth straight AL East title Sunday in Boston. Those 17 wins are impressive considering your mechanics vanished for chunks of the season.
And none of that matters unless you help the Yankees beat the Angels tonight in Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium.
George Steinbrenner had to have Johnson to beat the Red Sox in October. Well, the Bosox may not see the Yankees in the postseason. That doesn’t reduce the pressure on Johnson tonight when he opposes Paul Byrd, a journeyman right-hander whom the Yankees beat, 8-7, on July 30 at Yankee Stadium, scoring three runs and gathering nine hits in seven innings.
Johnson was brought here at a considerable expense to add a 27th World Championship and tonight is his first crack at it with the best-of-five series tied at 1-1. Game 4 is set for tomorrow afternoon.
When Johnson arrived in spring training he said he was “One of five.” Six months in pinstripes have turned Johnson’s head.
“I understand that I am here to get this team over the top and with that there is no making mistakes,” said Johnson, who is 2-7 with a 4.40 ERA in nine Division Series games (eight starts). “I made a few [mistakes] during the regular season and unfortunately there’s no room to make a lot of mistakes during the postseason.”
Lately, Johnson hasn’t been making many mistakes. In his past eight starts, he is 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA. That’s why the Yankees weren’t distraught about giving away Game 2 Wednesday night in Anaheim when they committed three errors that led to three unearned runs, went 1-for-9 in the clutch, and stranded eight runners in six innings.
“We are always confident when he pitches,” Derek Jeter said of Johnson, who was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts against the Angels this year.
In May, June and July the Yankees wouldn’t have felt as confident turning to the 42-year-old Johnson in such a critical spot. But tonight there isn’t a Yankee in uniform who doesn’t want to see Johnson firing fastballs and sliders at an Angels lineup that without the Yankees’ gifts in Game 2 would be looking at elimination.
“He is the guy we want on the mound for us,” said Jorge Posada, who will watch John Flaherty work behind the plate with Johnson for the 18th straight game.
It would help Johnson if the Yankees’ bats provide more noise than they did in the first two games when they hit .227 (15-for-66) overall and .250 (4-for-16) in the clutch.
Jason Giambi, the AL Comeback Player of the Year, was the Yankees’ best hitter in the first two games, batting .429 (3-for-7) with an RBI. Rookie second baseman Robinson Cano has drove in four of the Yankees’ seven runs.
Alex Rodriguez is hitless in five at-bats and fanned twice. In a sign the Angels didn’t want to pitch to him in Game 2, A-Rod drew three walks.
But the story will be Johnson.
“We have so much confidence in Randy at this point,” Joe Torre said. “He has been conditioned to do this before he got to the Yankees. He certainly has been everything we have hoped for.”
Tonight all of what Johnson did this season means nothing. It was nice for him to contribute. Now it’s time for Johnson to dominate the Angels and put the Yankees nine innings away from advancing.
He knew the rub of the green when he agreed to be a Yankee. Now it’s time for him to hold up his end of the deal.
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WEATHER RELATED
Rain is expected today and tomorrow, which could cause ALDS delays, according to Ch. 5’s Nick Gregory. “It doesn’t look pretty,” Gregory said. “It is going to be rainy [tonight.] Unfortunately, it also looks like it is going to rain almost all of Saturday into Saturday night.”
If Game 3 is to be rained out, MLB would simply push back the series by one day, according to spokesman Pat Courtney. If both today’s and tomorrow’s game are rained out and the series goes five, Game 5 would be on Tuesday.
Since Tuesday is supposed to be the start of the ALCS, the ALCS wouldn’t begin until Wednesday. This would wipe out the travel day with Game 2 Thursday. Game 3 would be Friday.
In the event of a rainout tonight, fans should use their “Home Game 1” tickets for Saturday’s game and “Home Game 2” tickets for Sunday’s game.
Saturday’s game is at 4:30, whether it’s Game 3 or 4. Sunday’s game, if it’s Game 5 in Anaheim, will be at 8 p.m. If it’s Game 4 in The Bronx, it’s TBA.
– Andrew Marchand
FORECAST
Tonight
80% chance of showers; 19 mph winds; High 76; Low 70
Tomorrow
80% chance of thundershowers; 19 mph winds; High 74; Low 64
Sunday
40% chance of showers; 12 mph winds; High 68; Low 58