Rangers 7, Yankees 2

The Yankees took Game 1 of the American League Championship Series from the Rangers in front of their home crowd in Arlington.  Texas had a four-run lead when LHP C. J. Wilson left in the top of the eighth.  But the Yankees then rallied to score five runs and take the lead in the midst of a Texas bullpen meltdown.  Texas looked to break even before heading back to New York on Monday.

Starting the day for Texas was RHP Colby Lewis, a diamond in the rough plucked out of Japan.  Lewis pitched a scoreless first and hoped to get something from his team that he lacked during the regular season, run support.  It wasn't conventional, but he got it.  With runners on first and third and RF Nelson Cruz at the plate with two outs, CF Josh Hamilton broke for second.  C Jorge Posada threw down to second base.  The throw was bad; SS Derek Jeter, covering the bag with Cruz at the plate, had to go several steps to the right side of second base to field the throw.  Hamilton, however, appeared to have no interest in stealing the bag, as he was content to force a rundown.  SS Elvis Andrus then broke for home, scoring the game's first run on the back end of a double steal.  The Yankees had a chance to nail Andrus at the plate, but a short, off-line throw by Jeter back to the plate nixed any chances of that.

The Rangers did it the small way in the first, and the big way in the second, when LF David Murphy crushed a homer to right field.  Later on in the inning, 1B Mitch Moreland and Andrus lined base hits before 3B Michael Young hit a booming double to right field scoring Moreland for Texas' third run of the game.  That would be all the Rangers would need, although they went onto score four more runs in the game.

The Yankees had some chances to get back into the game.  They had a rally going in the fourth with 2B Robinson Cano on third and no outs.  But Lewis then rebounded to strike out RF Nick Swisher and Posada.  DH Lance Berkman finally broke through with a single to right field but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double for the third out, debilitating New York's offense.  Cano hit a solo home run in the sixth, but the Yankees couldn't get anymore there either.

The real story of the day was pitching.  The two starters couldn't have been more different.  RHP Phil Hughes has a great record this season but a sub-par ERA, the beneficiary of the best run support in the AL.  Lewis has a great ERA this season but a losing record, as he gets some of the worst run support in the league.  In the postseason, though, the good starters prosper while the bad ones wither.  That's exactly what happened in Arlington yesterday.  Hughes was unable to complete five innings and gave up all seven of Texas' runs (all earned).  Lewis pitched 5.2 stellar innings, allowing only two runs and really only throwing one bad pitch (the homer to Cano).  The Rangers bullpen cruised this time, ensuring that they wouldn't be down going back to New York.