Sort of. Actually, this is an even better situation than when the Rangers' blew a chance to close out the series in game three last round.
Cliff Lee is still waiting there in the final game giving the Rangers' astronomic odds, but, this time, it's at home. And this time, the other guys don't have their best pitcher going. Further, the first of the Rangers' two shots at closing things out will have Colby Lewis, instead of Tommy Hunter like last time. Colby Lewis is very good.
This is, of course, why winning game four was so huge. The Rangers beating Sabathia on the road with anyone less than Cliff Lee was a tall order. The Yankees should have won game five, and that's what they did. Thanks the great play from the boys in game four, though, New York's shot at winning the series still only went up by a handful of percentage points.
There's also not yet any reason to panic about the offense that scored 30 runs through the first four games. When you get nine line drives, eleven hits, and a home run off of the starting pitcher, chasing him after six, you expect to score more than two runs. The reason the Rangers didn't score more runs wasn't because the offense took a game off, it was because they got unlucky one day. It happens. Fortunately, it happened with the Rangers having two more do overs after. And the starting pitcher they got to wasn't just any pitcher, it was CC Sabathia, the best the Yankees have to offer.
The problem today wasn't the offense, it was C.J. Wilson. For whatever reason, he just didn't have it. But he won't be pitching the next two games, and the Rangers are unlikely to lose anything on the mound with the guys who will.
The celebration is delayed, and that's frustrating, but, looking at today's match-ups, it's also not particularly surprising. And though it's not guaranteed, the celebration is still extremely likely to come this weekend. This is an even less worrisome spot than the Rangers were in after game three of the ALDS, and that series worked out pretty well.
And hey, if the celebration comes, now it will be at home!
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