ANAHEIM, Calif. — The list of American League Championship Series studs reads like an all-star roll call: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Mathis. Wait, Jeff Mathis? Wasn’t he the lead character in “Leave it to Beaver”?
Actually, Mathis is a weak-hitting catcher who spent the better part of this season flirting with the Mendoza Line.
“It was frustrating,” Mathis said. “I was searching to get it back.”
Mathis wouldn’t allow himself to become a casualty to baseball’s cruelty. When his team needed him most Monday, the kid known for his defense delivered the biggest hit of his career, a walkoff double that propelled the Angels to a 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS.
“It’s the best feeling I have ever had in baseball,” said Mathis after the Angels won their first game of the ALCS. “It’s hard to describe.”
Until Monday, Mathis hadn’t recorded two hits in a game since Aug. 11. Both of his doubles came after he entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning. A ghost in a uniform for much of the season, his fingerprints were all over this win.
Not only did he drive in Howie Kendrick, sending a well-behaved sellout crowd into delirium, the 26-year-old erased pinch-runner Brett Gardner attempting to steal second base. Jorge Posada homered moments later, only tying the game instead of winning it.
While Mathis struggled for the right words, his teammates did not.
“It’s a series again,” former Rockies reliever Darren Oliver said. “This changes everything.”
This was Angels baseball, something that was only a rumor to the national TV audience in the first two games. Those losses featured chilling fielding mistakes, sloppy pitches and poor clutch at-bats. The Angels looked spent from vanquishing postseason nemesis Boston.
Then, down three runs Monday after home runs by Jeter, Rodriguez and Johnny Damon, part of an ALCS record six in the game, the pilot light went on.
“This is the kind of series we expected,” said Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, a one-time Angel who was loudly booed in each of his at-bats. “We didn’t think we were going to sweep them.”
Howie Kendrick stung Andy Pett-itte in the fifth to create a flicker of hope. Vladimir Guerrero slammed a two-run shot in the sixth, tying the game. That set the stage for the Angels to overcome a three-run deficit for the 16th time this season, best in the big leagues.
“We know what we are capable of. I don’t know if it was a must-win, but it was huge,” erstwhile Rockies closer Brian Fuentes said.
Before Monday, the Yankees were 30-0 in an ALCS when leading by three or more runs. They looked the part of a Legion of Broom when Posada tied the game with his eighth-inning homer. Angels center fielder Torii Hunter buried his face in disbelief.
“It was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ They are monsters that just keep coming after you,” Hunter said. “But we never quit. It was an emotional roller coaster.”
For Mathis, it will be easy to wade through the carnage as years pass. Only one hit in the box score mattered — the last.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Game breakdown
Key moment: Angels catcher Jeff Mathis belted a walkoff double against Alfredo Aceves, scoring Howie Kendrick.
Turning point: Vladimir Guerrero’s game-tying home run in the fifth inning “gave us life and let us smell blood,” outfielder Torii Hunter said.
Brightest star: Kendrick arrived at the park with attitude and oozed it in his at-bats, finishing a double short of the cycle while hitting the first home run against the Yankees this postseason.
Falling star: Reliever Joba Chamberlain’s first pitch went for a double. He allowed two hits and one run in a third of an inning.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
ALCS
(Best-of-seven; all times MDT; Fox)
YANKEES VS. ANGELS
(New York leads series 2-1)
Friday: New York 4, L.A. 1
Saturday: New York 4, L.A. 3 (13)
Monday: Los Ang. 5, N.Y. 4 (11)
Today: New York (Sabathia 19-8) at L.A. (Kazmir 10-9), 5:57 p.m.
Thursday: at L.A., 5:57 p.m.
*Saturday: at N.Y., 2:13 p.m.
*Sunday: at N.Y., 6:20 p.m.
* if necessary
