New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels (Teams tied the regular season series 5-5)

The Yankees and the Angels swept their first round opponent setting up this matchup for a trip to the World Series.

Game one of this series is Friday night in New York and C.C. Sabathia will square off against John Lackey. Game two will feature A.J. Burnett against Joe Saunders and when the series shifts to Los Angeles for game three it will be Andy Pettitte against Jared Weaver.

It is thought that the Yankees will go with a three-man rotation and put Sabathia back on the mound for game four on short rest. The Angels will pitch Scott Kazmir in that game.

Mariano Rivera pitched 3.2 innings against the Twins and did not allow a run. Joba Chamberlain, who could be a candidate to start game four if the Yankees back off their three-man rotation idea, also pitched in all three games against the Twins and did not allow a run. Phil Hughes made three relief appearances as well, and gave up two runs in two innings of work.

As a team, the Yankees had a 1.55 ERA against Minnesota.

Brian Fuentes picked up two saves against the Red Sox in his two relief appearances for the Angels against the Red Sox. Darren Oliver pitched in all three games and did not allow a run.

The Angels pitchers had a 2.33 ERA in their series against the Red Sox and now will have to try to slow down a high-powered Yankees offense.

Alex Rodriguez hit .455 against the Twins and had two home runs and six RBI’s to lead the New York attack. Derek Jeter hit .400 and Jorge Posada hit .364. The rest of the lineup was pretty quiet with everyone hitting .222 and below.

Los Angeles’s offense was led by Bobby Abreu against Boston. He hit .556 with two doubles. Vladimir Guerrero hit .400 and Erick Aybar hit .364. Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales led the Angels with three RBI’s.

Prediction: Yankees in six. I think the Yankees will be able to shut down the Angels lineup enough and on the other side be able to score with the long ball to win the series and head back to the World Series for the first time since 2003 when they lost to the Florida Marlins.