Game 5 was a wild, emotional affair. Consider: Five Angels batted and scored four runs before an out was recorded in the first; then the Yanks, stifled for six innings, erupted for six runs in the seventh, making me think the game was in the bag; but in the bottom of the seventh, Girardi made weird pitcher selections and Phil Hughes made poor pitch selections, and the Angels retook the lead with 3; and then with two out in the bottom of the ninth, the Yanks loaded the 
bases, and Nick Swisher ran up a 3-2 count before hitting a droopy fly to left. A turbulent, annoying loss that left a feeling like you had done something you knew better than to have done, like rough housing in the living room, and you broke a nice lamp. Sorry, costly, not the end of the world. Last night, the Yanks responded by grinding out a very tough 5-2 win that was closer than the score indicated. The chief highlight was Andy Pettitte‘s strong, gutsy, 6.1 inning, one-run performance; not for nothing is he the winningest postseason pitcher ever (16). Other great moments: Johnny Damon‘s two-run single; Alex Rodriguez reaching base 5 times; outstanding infield play by Mark Teixiera and Robinson Cano; and a sharp six-out save by Mariano Rivera. Thus the team wins its 40th American League championship and overcomes the habitually better Angels, but it’s not enough. Seven down, four to go. The defending champion Phillies–Howard, Utley, Victorino, Lee, Hamels and Pedro Martinez!–are next.
