Angels are in a must win spot and I Love their chances. What I think this game will come down to is the starting pitching. I know Andy Pettitte is the more experienced pitcher but Weavers numbers are better and the Angels have had alot of success against Pettitte. Pettitte has pitched in LA twice this year, and he took the loss in both starts. Pettitte only lasted a COMBINED 10 innings giving up 9 Earned Runs, 12 hits, .293 BA Against and he walked as many as he struck out. In Pettittes 3 total starts against LA he is 0-2 with a no decision, and he gave up 14 earned runs on 21 hits in ONLY 16 innings! Pettitte has walked 8 Angels batters and only Struck out 6. The Angels are batting .323 against Andy this year. If you want a bigger sample, LA's hitters have a combined 215 at bats against Pettitte in their career and they have had alot of success reaching base. LA's lineup is batting .307 overall against Andy with an OBP of .360.
Now lets look at Weaver. Jered is 16-8 on the year with an ERA of 3.75. At home Weaver is 9-3 with an ERA of 2.90 and opponents are only batting .223 against. Weaver has started at HOME against the Yanks once this year and he went 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs, SO 9, Walked 2 and picked up the win. The Yankees haven't had near the success against Weaver as the Angels have had against Pettitte. The Yankees lineup has batted against Weaver 158 times and they only have a .215 BA against. Weaver has better overall numbers then Pettitte, the Away/Home ERA isn't even close, and when you add in that the Angels have hit Pettitte well you have to give the edge to the Angels. The Angels have the pitching advantage, they are at home, and they must win. Don't count them out just yet!
Yankees are 1-6 in their last 7 playoff road games
Yankees are 1-5 in Pettittes last 6 starts vs. Angels.
Yankees are 0-4 in Pettittes last 4 road starts vs. Angels.
Yankees are 8-20 in the last 28 meetings in Los Angeles
Take the Angels