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BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees try to advance to their fourth straight World Series and fifth in six years on Monday when they face the Seattle Mariners in Game Five of the American League Championship Series. The Yankees came through with an emotional victory in Sunday's Game Four after rookie Alfonso Soriano belted a two-run homer off Mariners' closer Kazuhiro Sasaki in the ninth inning to give New York a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Andy Pettitte (1-1, 1.26 ERA), the only starting pitcher who has been on all four of the World Series clubs since 1996, gets the ball on Monday. New York won Game One behind Pettitte, who allowed just one run and three hits in eight innings. He took a no-hitter into the fifth and faced just three batters in all but one inning. The veteran lefthander is 9-5 lifetime in the postseason and has given up just two runs and 10 hits over 14 1/3 innings in two playoff starts this season. He is 4-1 lifetime in the ALCS, including 2-0 in two starts against Seattle. The Mariners tied a major league record with 116 wins during the regular season, but are on the verge of being eliminated. They put their season's fate in the hands of starter Aaron Sele, who has been ineffective in the postseason, especially against New York. Sele (0-2, 5.63) suffered his second defeat of the postseason in Game One, allowing three runs and seven hits in six innings. He has given up seven runs -- five earned -- and 12 hits over eight innings in two playoff starts this season. The 31-year-old righthander is 0-4 with a 5.48 ERA in four lifetime outings against the Yankees in the postseason. He is winless in six postseason starts. All four runs in Game Four came via home runs but the contest was primarily a pitchers' duel in which neither Yankees starter Roger Clemens or Seattle's Paul Abbott were willing to give in. All told, the game featured a League Championship Series 15 walks, with Clemens issuing four in five innings. Abbott surrendered eight walks in a bizarre outing that saw him leave after five hitless innings. Bret Boone and Bernie Williams exchanged eighth-inning home runs but Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was able to dominate the Mariners in the ninth, setting the stage for Soriano. |
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