This Date in Angels Postseason History: October 4

The Angels have played three postseason games on October 4. They are 1-2 in postseason play on this date.

1979 - Angels Lose 9-8 to Orioles
The Angels were down 9-0 after three innings in Baltimore. It was the second game of the then best-of-five ALCS and they were already down 0 games to 1. They fought back with eight unanswered runs - one in the sixth, one in the seventh, three in the eighth and two in the ninth. Only the second game in Angels playoff history and the words "...what might have been..." already linger.

2002 - Angels Win 9-6 over Yankees
The series was knotted at a game apiece against the Yankees in the best of 5 ALDS and the series had just returned to Angel Stadium The Yankees had won four consecutive American League pennants and the Angels were treated with indifference by the national media. The Yankees sent eight men to the plate in the first inning against a shaky Ramon Ortiz. Three runs scored. Current White Sox manager Robin Ventura had a bases-loaded double that drove in two. Scott Spiezio made it 3-1 in the bottom of the second with a run-scoring groundout.

Ortiz shook even worse in the next frame, allowing a run on a Robin Ventura sac fly and giving up a two-out walk to Raul Modesi to put runners on the corners. Mike Scioscia, brought in rookie John Lackey who gave up run-scoring singles to Nick Johnson and future-Angel Juan Rivera. Headed to the bottom of the third it was 6-1 Yankees and the announcers were already speculating about who the Bronx Bombers would be facing in the ALCS.

But Tim Salmon had waited too long to get to the playoffs. He hit a one out, two-run double in the bottom of that inning to make it a 6-3 game and Adam Kennedy hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth: 6-4 Yanks after four. In the sixth a Kennedy sac fly off of Jeff Weaver scored Brad Fullmer to cut the Yankees lead to 6-5.

Lackey had given way to Scott Schoeneweis who had given way to Frankie Rodriguez, shutting down the bloated old Bombers along the way. A Spiezio base hit off of Mike Stanton in the bottom of the seventh scored Garret Anderson to tie the game while Frankie's 4 KS in 2 IP silenced the Pinstripers. In the Angels half of the eighth, Stanton gave up a doubles to Adam Kennedy and to Darin Erstad to surrender the lead before giving way to Steve Karsay, who promptly allowed a 2-run homerun to Tim Salmon. Troy Percival saved it. Angels Win 9-6, go up 2 games to 1 over the Yankees.

2005 - Angels lose 4-2 over Yankees
GAME THREAD and POSTGAME WRITEUP from the Halos Heaven Archives.

This was Game 1 of the 2005 ALDS, the Yankees in Anaheim for a 2-2-1 home away home series. This game is best remembered for the first inning miscue where a catchable Robinson Cano flyball sailed over Garret Anderson's head in the first inning to plate three. With the bases loaded and two outs with a flyball pitcher Bartolo Colon on the mound, it remained a mystery to HALOS HEAVEN why Garret was playing so shallow.

The Yankees took game 1 of the ALDS by the score of 4-2.