They can leave a small army of runners in scoring position. They can run the bases as if Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were on the coaching lines. And their manager can work as though he’s being paid by the pitching change.
The Yankees have the ultimate easy button to make all the issues go away this October. Give CC Sabathia the ball, and everything’s going to be all right.
Working on short rest Tuesday night in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, Sabathia shut down the Angels for eight innings to lead the Yankees to a 10-1 victory and a 3-1 series lead.
One win from the World Series, the Yankees will try to get it with A.J. Burnett on Thursday against the Angels’ John Lackey, who lost Game 1.
The Yankees blew a 3-0 lead in Game 3, and there was angst over the weak hitting with runners in scoring position and Joe Girardi’s bullpen management.
Sabathia, who won Game 1 with a similar eight-inning effort, put it all to rest.
As he was holding the Angels to one run — Kendry Morales’ homer in the fifth — the Yankees were scoring in spite of themselves. Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon hit two-run homers and Melky Cabrera had a two-run single in the fourth and a two-run double in the ninth.
“It’s the best I’ve felt all year, no doubt,” said Rodriguez, who is 6-for-16 with three homers and five RBIs in the ALCS. “I certainly feel free and liberated. It’s the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”
Rodriguez, who also singled, doubled and scored three times, is hitting .375 with three homers.
Sabathia went eight innings, allowing five hits, walking two and striking out five. He has worked 16 innings in the series, allowing only nine hits and two earned runs. He is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in the postseason.
“We’ve still got a little ways to go, but I’ve been feeling good,” Sabathia said. “I never had any doubt about me being able to perform on this stage and to pitch well late in October, but it seems like people did. But I feel great. You know, hopefully I can keep it going.”
After Mark Teixeira led off the fifth with a single, Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced Scott Kazmir with Jason Bulger. Scioscia may have had a better idea in Game 3, when he walked Rodriguez intentionally with no one on base.
This time, he hit Bulger’s 0-and-1 pitch over the wall in left field for his fifth postseason home run and a 5-0 lead.
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damore@tribune.com
