The Yankees win the pennant!

While I was at the Giants Stadium watching the Big Blue Wrecking Crew blow a lead on Sunday Night Football (more on that later), my beloved Yankees won their 40th pennant with a 5-2 victory over the Angels.

Quick ‘Cap:
Johnny Damon’s two-run single in the fourth inning proved to be the crushing blow in Game 6. After the first two of the inning reached, Melky Cabrera laid down a sac bunt and Derek Jeter walked to load the bases for Damon. Alex Rodriguez walked shortly after to give the Yanks a 3-1 lead.

Meanwhile, Andy Pettitte lasted 6-1/3 innings while giving up a single run. Joba Chamberlain finished the seventh for Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera closed out the game with a two-inning save. Even the great Rivera couldn’t stop Vladimir Guerrero from driving in a run in the eighth, but that was all the Angels mustered. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
I heard the final call from John Sterling in the radio as I was leaving the Meadowlands. Sterling made a point to hold the “Theeeeeeeee” extra long in his predictable game-ending call.

Line of the Night:
Pettitte: 6-1/3 IP, 7 H, ER, R, BB, 6 K. That’s a heck of a performance from a guy with a lot of pressure to live up to expectations. I think it’s safe to say Joe Girardi made the right call of sticking with Pettitte.

Up Next:
What do you think comes next? …The World Series! Game 1 begins Wednesday night at 7:57 p.m. with lefty aces CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee going at it.