Anaheim, Calif. – Disneyland sits just a short freeway ride from Angels Stadium.
How appropriate.
Because on a picture-perfect evening, Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Ervin Santana turned the stadium into his own magic kingdom.
Santana, a baby-faced 22-year- old, led the Angels to a 5-3 victory over the mighty New York Yankees on Monday in the decisive Game 5 of an American League division series.
The Angels now head to the American League Championship Series, where they will meet the Chicago White Sox. Game 1 is scheduled for tonight at Chicago’s Cellular One Field.
“No, I was not nervous,” Santana said. “All I thought was, ‘Get everybody out.’ I pitched one pitch at a time. One pitch at a time, that’s all I thought about.”
Santana was an unexpected hero, but a necessary one. When Angels ace Bartolo Colon – a 21-game winner and Cy Young Award candidate – left the game just three pitches into the second inning because of an inflamed right shoulder, the Angels’ chances looked bleak. But manager Mike Scioscia wasted no time calling in his rookie, even though Santana’s previous appearance was Oct. 2, when he beat Texas 7-4 on the final day of the regular season.
“Santana made some good pitches when he had to and Mike (Scioscia) trusted him into the seventh inning,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “I thought losing Colon was a bad break for them and a good one for us. Unfortunately for us, we wouldn’t cash in on some of the opportunities we had.”
Scioscia piled the praise on Santana.
“This kid responded to every situation as well as anybody who has ever put on a major-league uniform, whether it was a game down the pennant stretch or going against New York, or pitching a ballgame this summer,” Scioscia said.
When Colon was pulled after throwing just 23 pitches, Santana walked to the mound in the second inning. He walked the first two batters he faced, but then settled into a groove. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and three runs. Not gorgeous numbers, but pretty enough.
He gave up a leadoff homer in the seventh to Derek Jeter that cut L.A.’s lead to 5-3.
Santana then induced Alex Rodriguez to ground out before he was yanked in favor of reliever Kelvim Escobar.
Jeter was one of the few Yankees who met big-game expectations. He was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Jason Giambi also did his part, going 3-for-5 with a double. But the Yankees stranded 11 runners. Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Rodriguez shot blanks with men on base. Rodriguez was 2-for-15 (.133) with no RBIs in the series. Matsui was 0-for-5 on Monday night and finished the ALDS 4-for-20 (.200) with one RBI.
Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez faced the top of the Yankees’ order in the ninth, and there were some nervous moments. Jeter opened with a single, but Rodriguez grounded into a double play. Giambi hit a bloop single to right, and Gary Sheffield kept New York’s hopes alive with an infield single to third. But Rodriguez got Matsui to ground out to first baseman Darin Erstad to close out the Yankees.
New York took an early lead in the second, converting Santana’s two walks, a Bubba Crosby single and a sacrifice fly by Jeter into two runs.
But the Angels took the lead right back in the third on a solo homer by Garret Anderson and two-run triple to deep right-center by Adam Kennedy. Yankees center fielder Bubba Crosby, and Sheffield in right, were in hot pursuit of the ball, but they collided violently. Neither was seriously hurt, but the Yankees’ chances took a major blow.
MLB PLAYOFFS
ALCS
ANGELS VS. WHITE SOX
Game 1: Today, Los Angeles at Chicago, 6:19 p.m., KDVR-31
NLCS
ASTROS VS. CARDINALS
Game 1: Wednesday, Houston at St. Louis, 6:19 p.m., KDVR-31
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
