The New York Yankees could have easily folded but instead they battled back. Alex Rodriguez, who had been struggling during the World Series, hit a two run homer in the fourth to start the rally. Andy Pettitte helped his own cause with an RBI single, then Johnny Damon hit a two RBI double.

In the top of the sixth, Nick Swisher hit a solo shot to give the Yankees a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Werth hit his second solo home run of the game.

Then the Yankees were able to break the game open. Jorge Posada hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh. The top of the eighth saw Hideki Matsui hit a pinch hit solo homer.

With an 8-4 lead, the Yankees only gave up a Carlos Ruiz solo shot and won the contest 8-5. The Yankees are now up 2-1 in the World Series. For the Phillies to have a legit shot at winning back-to-back championships, they desperately need a victory in Game 4.

Stay tuned to see if the Phillies can stay alive or if the Yankees will take a stranglehold on the series.

Alex Rodriguez is a hero once again (Image: Zuma Press)

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The Angels actually got on the board first when Bobby Abreu hit an RBI single in the third inning. However, the Yankees got the lead for good in the fourth. Johnny Damon hit a two-run single and then Rodriguez drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Derek Jeter.

Pettitte pitched 6.1 innings and allowed only one earned run while scattering seven hits and striking out six batters. Mariano Rivera pitched the final two innings to notch his second save of the series.

The Angels simply couldn’t get Rodriguez out. A-Rod was 2-2 with three walks. For the series, Rodriguez hit .429 and had an on-base percentage of .567.

In the 2009 World Series, the Yankees will take on the Philadelphia Phillies. In Game 1 of the World Series, the Yankees will send C.C. Sabathia to the mound, while the Phillies will counter with Cliff Lee.

Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

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The two biggest stars for the Yankees were Alex Rodriguez and C.C. Sabathia. Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with three runs, two RBIs and a walk. His big hit came in the form of a two-run homer in the fifth inning.

Sabathia, pitching on short rest, was masterful once again. In eight innings, the hefty lefty gave up five hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out five batters. In the postseason, Sabathia is 3-0 in his three starts and he’s sporting a 1.19 ERA.

The Yankees can book their tickets to the 2009 World Series with a win in Game 5. A.J. Burnett will start for the Yankees, while John Lackey goes for the Angels. The game will be on Thursday in California.

CC Sabathia was great once again (Image: Zuma Press)

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In eight innings of work, Sabathia gave up four hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out seven. It was Sabathia second postseason win in two starts. Closer Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth inning to pick up the save.

To put runs on the board, the Yankees relied on Hideki Matsui, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Matsui was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Jeter was 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI.

The Yankees and Angels will play Game 2 of the ALCS on Saturday. Joe Saunders will be on the mound for the Angels and A.J. Burnett will start for the Yankees.

CC Sabathia wins another playoff game for the Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

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With Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira on base, Rodriguez hit a homer to put the Yankees up 2-0. Later in the same inning, Rodriguez came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. One inning. Two homers. Seven RBIs. Not a bad way to end regular season play.

For the 2009 baseball season, Rodriguez finished with 30 homers, 100 RBIs and a batting average of .286. While Rodriguez has had better numbers, those stats are impressive considering he missed the first month of the season due to hip surgery.

After scoring ten runs in the sixth inning, the Yankees went on to beat the Rays by a final count of 10-2. New York finished with a record of 103-59 and will take on the winner of the tiebreaker game between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins to begin the playoffs.

Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees finished the season in style (Image: Zuma Press)

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Although it wasn’t exactly a shocking development, the New York Yankees officially cemented a spot in the 2009 Major League Baseball playoffs with a victory on Monday. After a 6-5 victory of the Los Angeles Angels, the Yankees had an extremely mild celebration and continued on their goal to finish with the best record in baseball.

After starting the season slowly, the Yankees are now 95-56. They have a six-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Not only do they have the best record in either league, the Yankees’ run differential of +149 is also best mark.

On Monday, the Yankees got up 5-0 on the Angels, however Los Angeles was able to battle back to tie the game at five. In the top of the ninth, Alex Rodriguez hit a game-winning sac fly that scored Brett Gardner. In the bottom of the ninth, Mariano Rivera finished off the game to pick up his 41st save on the season.

While the Yankees weren’t too overtly thrilled with simply making the playoffs, star first baseman Mark Teixeira said that the team will celebrate more once they clinch the AL East.

“You don’t see any champagne tonight,” said Teixeira, “but hopefully in a couple of days you will.”

Derek Jeter and the Yankees are headed to the playoffs (Image: Zuma Press)

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With Derek Jeter on base, Rodriguez hit a home run off of Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa is a Red Sox reliever who was making his baseball debut. Rodriguez is now hitting .261 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs this season.

On the mound, both starters pitchers were great. A.J. Burnett allowed only one hit in his 7.2 innings of work. For the Red Sox, Josh Beckett gave up only four hits in his seven innings.

With the win, the Yankees won their second straight game over the Red Sox after losing their first eight contests this year against the number one rival. New York now has a 4.5 lead over Boston in the AL East. In the AL Wild Card race, the Red Sox only lead the Texas Rangers by one game and the Tampa Bay Rays by two games.

Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

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In the top of the first inning, Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run blast off of Jered Weaver. Rodriguez hit another homer in the top of the 8th.

But the story was the overall production from the Angels lineup. Bobby Abreu and Mike Napoli each had three RBIs, while Gary Matthews Jr., Howie Kendrick and Brandon Wood knocked in two RBIs apiece.

After the slow start, Weaver pitched well enough to improve his record to 10-3 on the season. He went six innings while allowing four hits, two walks and three earned runs. He also struck out nine batters.

The win improved the Angels to 48-37, while the Yankees dropped to 51-36.

Alex Rodriguez didn't quite do enough (Image: Zuma Press)

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Burnett on the season now has a 3.93 ERA to go along with a record of 6-4. Although he got off to a relatively slow start, Burnett has gotten better and better. In his last three starts, the 32-year-old has given up one earned run in more than 20 innings.

The Yankees got a Nick Swisher solo shot in the third inning to get on the board. In the sixth, Alex Rodriguez had an RBI single and then Jorge Posada smashed a three-run homer later in the inning.

The win gives the Yankees a 42-32 record on the season. The Mets fell to 37-36 with the loss.

AJ Burnett - New York Yankees (Image: Zuma Press)

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It’s already been a very tumultuous year for Rodriguez. Earlier in the year, he admitted to past steroid use. Rodriguez also underwent offseason hip surgery that forced him to miss the beginning of the 2009 baseball campaign.

So far this season, A-Rod isn’t hitting as well as usual. His batting average sits at .212 and he has nine homers, 26 RBIs and 18 runs. The 33-year-old hasn’t hit under .285 since 1995.

The Yankees insist that Rodriguez is simply tired and that this isn’t related to his offseason hip surgery. Whatever the case, his recent numbers have been extremely sub par. In June, he’s hitting just .145 — and he doesn’t have a hit in his last 15 at-bats.

Alex Rodriguez isn't happy about the benching (Image: Zuma Press)

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