Schedule
- October 23, 2010 7 pm
About
This game is still of the *If Necessary variety, and while the Rangers stand to pull in some sweet playoff revenue from a massive win-or-go-home matchup with the most valuable franchise in American sports, you can bet they don't want to play a game seven unless they really, really have to.
If it goes to seven, the Rangers will put Cliff Lee on the mound, a left-handed magician for whom we provide the following scouting report: Cliff pitch good. In his postseason career, Lee is 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 67:7. That's not a typo—for every time he walks you, he'll punch you out nine and a half times. Lee has also carried the Rangers to three of their six postseason wins this year, including an eight-inning dismantling of the Yanks in game three.
But if there's one thing Lee does not have, it's the extensive playoff resume of his opponent, Andy Pettitte. The longtime Yankee is baseball's all-time leader in postseason wins (19), starts (42), and innings pitched (263), all while helping New York to five World Series titles in the last 13 years. He's a consumate pro. He's relaxed under pressure. He's awful in Arlington.
Wait, what was that last part?
Oh yeah, for his career Pettitte has been beyond bad when he faces the Rangers on the road. In seven career starts at RBiA, he's 2-4 with a 8.22 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP, a pitching line that so worried Yankees' manager Joe Girardi that he pushed Pettitte back from his scheduled start in game two just so he wouldn't be subjected to the pitchers' torture that the Temple can be. That's a positive, happy thought Ranger fans can brew on while they're on their way out to the ballpark on Saturday. *If Necessary.