When Jerry Hairston Jr. got the call to pinch hit in the 13th inning, he dedicated the at-bat to his grandfather. This was the Yankee reserve’s first ever playoff at-bat, and he knew how lucky he was to get the chance.
“My grandfather never had the opportunity that I had and that I’ve had,” Hairston Jr. said of Sam Hairston, a major leaguer in 1956, “and that at-bat was definitely for him.”
It was an at-bat for his Yankees teammates, too, because Hairston Jr. helped lift them to a remarkable ALCS Game 2 victory. He hit a leadoff single off Ervin Santana, then later scored the winning run in the Yankees’ magical 4-3 victory.
PHOTOS: YANKEES BEAT ANGELS IN FIVE-HOUR GAME 2
The 33-year-old Hairston Jr. has been in the majors since 1998 and played for four other teams before joining the Yankees in midseason. Never before had he seen the playoffs.
“I knew if I got a chance to do something,” he said, “I wanted to do something positive.”
As the 13th inning opened, the only other Yankee position player available was third catcher Francisco Cervelli, but Hairston Jr. wasn’t antsy. He knew throughout the game he wasn’t going in anytime soon.
“I know [manager Joe Girardi is] going to wait until the very last second because God forbid something happens to Alex [Rodriguez] or [Derek Jeter], if I’m already in and out of the game, then I’m the last infielder and we have nobody else,” he said.
“So I knew I’d be the last guy, but I wanted to stay ready and he just said, ‘Hey, go up there and get a hit,’ and fortunately I was able to get on base.”
And score.
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Using Jose Molina at catcher gave Girardi the choice of employing switch-hitting Jorge Posada as the DH against Angels lefty Joe Saunders. However, because Matsui has been the DH all season and handles lefties, Girardi stayed with the left-handed hitting Matsui.
Matsui went 1-for-4 before leaving for a pinch runner in the ninth inning. Posada entered the game as a pinch hitter for Molina in the eighth and went 1-for-3.
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Though CC Sabathia worked eight innings in Game 1, Girardi said he didn’t believe the lefty was taxed to the point where he is no longer a candidate to pitch Game 4 Tuesday on three days’ rest.