ARLINGTON, Texas — Across two years with the Yankees, CC Sabathia has certainly carried his load.
Friday night his teammates did the heavy lifting when they overcame a poor outing by the large lefty and erased a four-run deficit in the eighth inning on the way to a pulsating 6-5 victory over the Rangers in Game 1 of the ALCS in front of 50,930.
When Sabathia split after four frames the Yankees were in a 5-0 ditch and looking dead. And for seven innings the Yankees hardly laid a glove on C.J. Wilson. But in the eighth Brett Gardner’s infield single ignited a five-run rally that reduced the pressure on Phil Hughes in today’s Game 2.
The late-game heroics gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 affair.
The Yankees scored five runs before making an out in the eighth and took a 6-5 lead. Alex Rodriguez had a two-run double, and Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Marcus Thames each drove in a run as Rangers manager Ron Washington continued to summon relievers from a bullpen that was brutal.
Kerry Wood worked the eighth and caught Ian Kinsler trying to steal after a leadoff walk. Mariano Rivera recorded the final three outs for his 41st postseason save, stranding the tying run at second base.
Dustin Moseley, who provided two scoreless innings in which he fanned four, was the winner.
Pitching with eight days’ rest because the Yankees swept the Twins in three ALDS games, Sabathia was a mess in three of the four innings and he looked anything like the AL Cy Young favorite. He walked four of the first 12 batters he faced (three in the opening inning), gave up a three-run homer to Josh Hamilton in the first, a two-run double to Michael Young in the fourth, and balked a runner to third in the third.
In four frames, the 21-game winner allowed five runs, six hits and four walks. It was Sabathia’s shortest outing of the season. He worked 4 2/3 innings against the Red Sox on May 8 because rain interrupted play and he didn’t return for the final out in the fifth.
With Rangers ace Cliff Lee looming large over the ALCS, Wilson was Lee-light for seven innings. The lefty entered the game with an 0-3 career record and a 4.12 ERA in 20 games (three starts) against the Yankees. This year he was 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA in three starts.
Provided with an early 3-0 cushion by Hamilton, Wilson cruised through seven. His shutout bid ended in the seventh when Cano homered.
In Sabathia’s past five starts he is 3-2 with a 5.58 ERA, has allowed 31 hits and 13 walks in 30 2/3 innings.
By the end of four frames Sabathia’s pitch count was at 93, the Rangers had six hits, drawn four walks and led, 5-0.
Young’s two-out, two-run double to right-center in the fourth hiked the Rangers’ lead to 5-0 and got Joba Chamberlain up in the bullpen. Chamberlain replaced Sabathia and worked a scoreless fifth.
After leaving two on in the third, the Yankees got two-out singles from Cano and Thames in the fifth. But Jorge Posada’s liner to left stayed up long enough for Nelson Cruz to glove it and keep the Yankees scoreless.
Wilson erased a leadoff walk to Granderson in the fifth by getting Jeter to bounce into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play and retired Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Rodriguez in order in the sixth.