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MIKE AND THE MAD DOG — GAME 2 ALCS RECAP (YANKS 4, CLEVELAND 3)
LIVE ON THE FAN
MIKE:
Alright, we’re back, Mike and the Mad Dog on the FAN, and the Yankees—finally—finally—get a little something goin’ here, Dog. They even the series, 4–3, in Cleveland, and lemme tell ya somethin’: the story of the day is the old man. Forty-two-year-old Sal Cantu. Think about that. Forty-two. And he gives you seven strong in an ALCS game on the road.
DOG:
MIKE, FORTY-TWO YEARS OLD! FORTY-TWO! He’s out there throwin’ 96 pitches like he’s back in his PRIME! What a job by CANTU! I MEAN COME ON! SEVEN INNINGS! Against this Cleveland lineup?! That’s a MAN’S performance, Mikey! A MAN’S performance!!
MIKE:
It is. No question. The guy settled down after the second inning, kept the game right where it needed to be. And the offense—listen, they scratched just enough. Oscar Arispe, huge swing. Huge. A two-run triple in the third. That’s your ballgame.
DOG:
ARISPE! WHO CAN’T HIT A BEACH BALL MOST OF THE POSTSEASON, AND THEN BANG! HE GETS THE BIG TRIPLE! Two runs in, Yanks go up 4–3, AND THAT WAS IT! That was the MOMENT!
And how about Shackford with the sac fly! How about H. GONZALEZ with the clutch two-out knock! They played GOOD FUNDAMENTAL BASEBALL, MIKE!
MIKE:
They did. And they needed it, Dog. They really needed it. Because Cleveland had their chances. Ten hits, nine left on base. They didn’t get the big swing today. Credit to Cantu, and credit to Carlos Gonzalez out of the pen—two innings, nails.
DOG:
LIGHTS OUT! LIGHTS OUT, MIKEY! This kid Gonzalez has been UNHITTABLE! FOUR SAVES ALREADY! FOUR! AND NOT A SINGLE RUN ALLOWED! THAT’S MARIANO-ESQUE! THAT’S WHAT THAT IS!
MIKE:
Easy, Dog—easy now.
DOG:
NO NO NO, MIKE, I WON’T EASY! He’s been SENSATIONAL!
MIKE:
—He’s been great, but let’s dial it down a little bit on the comparisons. Still, though: enormous win for the Yankees. You couldn’t go back home down 0–2. Now you’ve flipped the pressure. You get the split in Cleveland, and the series resets at Yankee Stadium Thursday.
DOG:
AND CLEVELAND LET ‘EM OFF THE HOOK TODAY! THEY HAD ‘EM! They had Cantu on the ropes in the second—THREE RUNS IN, RALLY GOIN’—and then what happens?! They STOP HITTTIN’! Nothing after that! NOTHING!
MIKE:
Yep. And Cleveland played a little sloppy too—the error, the missed opportunities, base running not great. Meanwhile the Yankees finally didn’t beat themselves. Clean game, good pitching, timely hits.
DOG:
THIS SERIES, MIKE—THIS SERIES IS GOIN’ SEVEN! I CAN FEEL IT! These two teams HATE EACH OTHER! The HISTORY! The DRAMA! We are SET UP for a CLASSIC!
MIKE:
We’ll see, Dog. Yanks tie it up. 4–3 final. Cantu the hero. We head to New York all even.
Alright, we’ll take a break. Back after this.
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