Red Sox manager Terry Francona joined Dale & Holley for the final time this season to talk about the postseason and what Francona might do with all the free time on his hands. Check out the entire audio here. Some highlights below.

We wrap up the season with Terry Francona, I just thought it might be three or four weeks from now.

Yeah, I’m used to doing this either in my office or from the road. Not from home. I don’t like it.

Tito, how are you dealing with this?

It’s hard. Every year is a little bit different. A couple of years we’ve been fortunate enough to be celebrating, a couple of years we’ve been heartbroken. This year is a hard one to figure. There are a lot of ways to spin it, I think perspective is the hardest thing to achieve early on, from fans, media, myself. You know, the one thing we talked about when we were down to New York, down to Cleveland was we thought we were good enough to win, but if you put yourself in a position where if you make a mistake, you go home, well, you know what happened. We played a good game the other day, for the most part. We scored off a good pitcher, we had a two-run lead going into the ninth. We made some mistakes and when you get yourself into a situation like that, if you make a mistake, you end up going home.

You know what it’s like in this town, the other team never plays well, your team always played poorly. How much credit does the starting pitching for the Angels get for those two games in Anaheim? How much blame does your offense get?

Well, we probably always look at ourselves more than the other team. That’s human nature. [John] Lackey and [Jered] Weaver pitched great games. We feel like, regardless, once you get to the playoffs you have to find ways to score. We didn’t. We always take that responsibility. Again, perspective is the biggest word and it’s going to be difficult for people to find that. [Jon] Lester pitched great. There are some things that happened in that game … For me probably the biggest one is Bobby Abreu. He had an at-bat, a couple at-bats where he never flinched. He took a 94-mile-an-hour fastball that was two inches out of the strike zone and never flinched. That’s pretty good hitting. We’re trying to give up a run to get out of the inning because Torii Hunter was coming up next. Bobby had that great at-bat and then Torii took Lester deep. That was the game. So there are some things that happen during the game that I don’t think people necessarily remember that can really swing a game.

Going back to Game 1, I would love to know what the approach was for Bobby Abreu. Was Lester pitching around Abreu? Or was that a just a very discriminating eye by Abreu?

We’re not pitching around him. Now, we respect what he can do. I think if you go back and look at his at-bats, he took some pitches that most hitters don’t take. He got to a 3-2 count with Lester, Lester threw him a 94-mile-an-hour fastball that was a borderline strike. Bobby never flinched. Bobby Abreu was as locked in, and when I say that I don’t mean he was just getting hit after hit, he never offered to pitches that were an inch or two off the plate. To me, with some of the stuff we were throwing up there, that’s an amazing feat.

We were looking at first-time through the lineup in those first two games, your team was 1-for-25 with two walks. Is there such a thing as being too patient or were they just making pitches …?

What happens when you go through the lineup the first time and you don’t have any success, guys are trying to be patient because that’s what we do. And what happens sometime is they understand that and they execute strike one and now we’re hitting in the hole. That happens from time to time, that’s just the way the game is. That’s why sometimes when the game’s over you tip your hat to the opposing team and you feel like you should have done some things better. That’s the way the game is. When you work ahead, you’re going to have success. We didn’t want to be too aggressive, we wanted to be patient. What ended up happening is that we were hitting 0-1 a lot. We ended up expanding the zone because they were good enough to make it expand. It kind of goes both ways.

What went into the decision to intentionally walk Torii Hunter and pitch to Vlad Guerrero in Game 3?

There are a lot of things that happened. For me, nobody will be able to tell me that was the wrong move. Not that they won’t be able to tell me, they won’t be able to convince me, I’ve been told a lot. Vlad hadn’t done much in that series. I felt like we executed pitches and if you go back and look at the executed pitches we did throw to Vlad, we broke his bat, and struck him out. Torii Hunter is swinging with a lot of violence and makes me nervous. I thought it was the right thing to do. The first pitch to Vlad wandered out over the middle and he kind of threw it up into center and it did the job. I would do that again every single time because I know it’s the right thing to do.

Were you concerned that it limited Jonathan Papelbon’s options with the bases loaded?

Yeah, sure. It certainly is a factor. It wasn’t enough of a factor to make me not want to do it. If Pap makes a pitch to Torii Hunter and Torii does something to help them win the game, I would want to shoot myself. Again, I wasn’t happy that Vlad got a hit. Again, I would do it every single time if it was the same situation.

I know you don’t deal in absolutes, but do you feel like in the situation you had there, it was an absolute time to load the bases?

Michael, I just said that. I don’t know what else you want me to say. Again, every situation is different. We had a situation down in Tampa earlier in the season that we elected not to. I wasn’t comfortable with his ability at the point in the game where he was. I thought I was putting him in an unfair position. I thought Pap would be able to execute a pitch easier to Vlad than to Torii Hunter. I thought with Torii Hunter if you make a mistake, Pap was missing up a lot. You miss up to Torii Hunter and he might hit it on that street. We don’t have a lot of time to think about it, but again, you can’t convince me that was the wrong thing to do. You can try, but I feel strongly about that.

Did you feel the running game of the Angels, their vaunted running game was as big a factor as some feared?

It concerned us, I think justifiably so. Not just stealing bases, but going first to third, but the fact that they can run. Even when a guy like Vlad hitting, they’re not afraid to put runners in motion. If you vacate, which you have to, Vlad hits the hole, whether by luck or execution, it works. When they’re on second base you have to hold them or they’re going to run. So just the fact that they didn’t steal a ton of bases doesn’t mean that it doesn’t play into the game.

Was there any point in that game, before the blow up, that you said to yourself, “It doesn’t look like Pap has it today”?

When he came in in the eighth, he actually made a a terrible pitch to [Juan] Rivera. We got the base hit to right that drove in two runs. When we got the add-on run I was actually thrilled because of everything we talked about. The running game, Pap’s not real quick to the plate, it takes away the stolen bases, it takes away the sac bunt. So that run, for me, was huge. In fact, if you replay the inning, as much that happened, we’re still sitting on a win if we can get that last out. I thought that last run we got was huge. That’s why we pinch-ran, that why we did what we wanted because we did want to get a tack-on run.

When you play a series you come out of it with more respect for a certain guy. That guy for me was Eric Aybar. Do you agree with that?

Well, I don’t know. I had respect for him going in. We studied them pretty extensively. We thought we could beat them, it doesn’t mean we don’t respect the way they play. They have a lot of balance, they have a lot of different ways to beat you. Again, you have to remember, in a three-game series, whoever does something is going to stick out for you. If Eric Aybar goes 0-for-10, you might say, “I don’t think he’s very good.” Well, he is. [Kevin] Youkilis didn’t hit much. Youk hit the ball three times in the last game as hard as you can hit it. Those things happen sometimes. over the course of 162 games, those things even out. In a short series, they don’t always even out.

Do you undertake exit interviews, for lack of a better term? Without getting into specifics, if you do, what are the things you talk to players about?

Some are formal, some are informal, some are done before the season is over, some will be done in the next few weeks. Some are not done exclusively by me, some are done with John Farrell and the pitching staff, some are done with the medical staff, some need to be done by me and Theo [Epstein]. We pretty much try to communicate with everybody.

I read Clay Buchholz’ comments in the paper, “I’ll never assume anything again. I’ll go into this offseason working as though I have to earn a spot on this team.” You probably like to hear those words.

Yeah, that’s good to hear. Now, I don’t pay much attention to the paper, but I understand your point. He assumed a little bit a couple years ago. He was young, when we were that age we made mistakes. And Clay probably learned the hard way. But he’s got a chance to be a pretty special talent and he seems to be growing up. Now, again, he’s got some more to go. The game got going for him a little fast the other day. Torii Hunter took off and if Clay steps off, Torii’s in the middle of “no man’s land” with a huge base-running blunder. Now, because Clay balked, nobody remembered that. So, there are things that happen in the game that seem to get lost in the shuffle that are huge plays.

In 2008, you were one win from going to the World Series, you just tweaked the team. In 2009, you lose in the first round. Is this a tweak situation? Do you expect to have the same guys back next year?

I don’t know. What I do know, we won 95 games this year, I don’t know how many we won last year, I think the same. Again, we exited real quick in the playoffs and that is distressing to all of us. If we make moves as a reaction to that, that would be a mistake. The moves we make, and Theo is great at this, will be made to try to make us be good not only for the short term but not forgetting the long term. That’s the one thing he has his hands full doing and I probably get to see it first hand because I’m there, it’s not easy. When you don’t have the ability to step back and “reload” or however you say it, it can be challenging. I think he’s done an amazing job of, at times, cutting ties with some pretty popular people. I don’t know if I’d have the ability to do that. He’s done a great job of balancing the present and the future and it’s going to be another challenge this year.

I know you guys talk continuously, but when Theo is about to make one of those major moves, say trade Nomar Garciaparra away for the sake of discussion, is it better for you to not know what’s going on?

No, no, no, I definitely appreciate knowing. I think he understands that. I’m there every day and if I don’t understand what’s going on in the clubhouse he has the wrong guy. So, we do a lot of talking about that kind of stuff.

As a manager dealing with grown men, is there a point where you say, “That is crossing the line, we don’t want you talking about this or saying this to the media.” Does that exist?

Oh, sure, every so often, I call Pap in and tell him to shut up. He’s great, he says, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like this, or I did this.” Or he’ll just come in and say, “I messed up.” We do that from time to time. It’s how we operate.

Papelbon likes the attention, he has a big personality. Do you think that had anything to do with his on-field performance this year?

No, I don’t see how it possibly could. As long as he works hard and he’s ready to pitch. He was out there at the end and he didn’t pitch very well. That might stay with him for a while. It doesn’t have anything to do with the interviews he does on Comcast or whatever. He’s a good-hearted kid, he works hard, he made some bad pitches. I’m sure, being in this town for six years there will be a huge reaction to that. He’s one of the best in the business and just didn’t do a good job in his last game.

Will you go to the Arizona Fall League and look at Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias, or just wait until they get to the major league camp?

You know what, I may just do that. I know Theo says I’ve always had an open invitation to do it, but in the past we’ve really never had the time to do it. So, I may try to take advantage of that, go out there and watch those guys. And maybe even get a chance to go to dinner with them, get a chance to get to know them a little bit. I think that can be an advantage.

You’ve got some babies in this organization, 18, 19, 20 years old.

Yeah, it’s exciting. They’re a few years away. Most of our guys are here right now, so there is a little bit of a gap. But there are kids coming, they are exiting. Potentially really impactful players like we have now, but a little on the younger side.

When the season ends so quickly, do you get the urge to e-mail and text these guys to just talk?

Well, I actually have with a few of them. The way it ended was so abrupt that we had a short meeting. The losing manager has an obligation to get to the media room “right now.” We gathered everybody up, had a short meeting and moved on. And then the next day, guys were packing, some decided not to. So there were a few guys I missed that I wanted to talk to. There are some things I wanted to tell some guys, some “thank yous” things like that. But there is some time where guys need to be away from me. I understand that. Then the process starts over again. The trainers and medical people make sure that the guys have their programs and our guys know what to do. I’ll be in touch when the time is right, but they need some time away to take a breath.

How would you describe your interest in the ALCS and NLCS now?

Zero. This was such a tough ending for me this year that I don’t think I can watch it. I wasn’t ready to be done. There is no getting around it. This was a tough one. I felt, like in the past, we have the ability to come back and beat teams. We have the ability to get down, but we have the ability to come back and I felt like “here we go again” but it didn’t happen and it crushed me. I’m going to have to deal with that for a while.

Several of your coaches, Tim Bogar, Brad Mills and John Farrell, are up for manager jobs. Do you expect changes in your staff this offseason?

The only way there will be changes is if someone becomes a manager. Which, I guess, that’s a good thing. I love the staff, I think we have the best staff in baseball. They’re hard-working, knowledgeable and passionate. That’s why you’re seeing these guys getting interviews. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Demarlo Hale’s name creep in there, too, with one of these teams. And I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these guys gets a job. And if that happens, we will have to go find a coach, which is tough for me, but also very rewarding at the same time. It’s a good problem to have.

It would be bittersweet if Brad Mills gets a job.

He’s one of my best friends in the whole world, not just in baseball. We’ve been together a long time. What he means to me is a lot. I know he wants a chance to manage and I think he’s very, very deserving. The situation in Houston is really intriguing.  He’s been with Ed Wade before, 10 years ago. I think we’ve all done some growing up since then. I think Ed is going to enjoy interviewing Millsy and I think Millsy is going to have a good interview. Now, saying that I think Tim Bogar is going to interview well, too. It’s really a unique situation.

Do general managers call you about Bogar and Millsy?

You know what, there is kind of a protocol that people have to follow, but again, I’ve known Ed for a long time. I’ve already talked to him and Theo knows I’ve talked to him, he doesn’t have a problem. I guess the guys you know, you talk to. I know the guys in Cleveland real well, and I know Ed. We’re not breaking the rules they’re just trying to find out who’s capable of managing their team.

October 10, 2009

Jason Bay

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Workout Day

THE MODERATOR: Looks like we got a little bonus.

JASON BAY: This was part of the deal for the off day. (Accompanied by daughter Addison.)

THE MODERATOR: First question for either?

Q. Jason, what has been the Angels’ game plan against you guys when you’re batting? What can you do to disrupt their rhythm in pitching?

JASON BAY: I don’t think, you know, for the most part it’s not a team we play a lot during the season, so, you don’t see them a lot, but the few times we have seen them, you know, I think we saw Weaver twice in the regular season and I think maybe we got one run. Just one of those things where I don’t know if it’s a situation where he pitches well against us. I mean, obviously his numbers indicate he pitches well against most teams. But maybe they — he matches up well against us. I don’t know. Read the rest of this entry »

Red Sox manager Terry Francona delivered a rallying cry for his troops on Saturday at Fenway entering Sunday’s noon do-or-die game against the Los Angeles Angels.

“We’ll show up [Sunday], do what we always do on early games, have 12 pieces of bacon, a Red Bull and go get ‘em.”

The Red Sox are down two games-to-none entering Sunday’s Game 3, needing to win Sunday and Monday at Fenway to force a Game 5 back in Anaheim on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jon Lester threw on Saturday at Fenway and Francona pronounced him on track to make the Game 4 start on Monday if necessary. Mike Lowell, who was hit on the right thumb by a sharp one-hop grounder in Friday’s loss, did not come in for treatment, indicating to Francona that he’s okay.

In other Saturday developments, Daisuke Matsuzaka threw on flat-ground in right field while Game 3 starter Clay Buchholz went through a very brief five-minute mound session in the bullpen.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Really, when an offense scores one run in 18 innings and manages just four hits each in consecutive games, there is only so much that a manager can say. And so, on Friday night, following his team’s 4-1 loss to the Angels in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, Red Sox manager Terry Francona offered the most basic analysis when asked what his team must do differently to avoid elimination now that it is down 2-0 in the best-of-five ALDS.

“Our strategy is that we need to win,” Francona said. “We need to win a game.”

Here is the transcript of Francona’s postgame remarks.

Q. The lack of offense, is that more something with your team, or is it just their pitching is that good right now?

Francona: It’s probably a little bit of both. They certainly have executed very, very well. [Jered] Weaver tonight, he wasn’t pitching [out of] the stretch very much — [Jacoby Ellsbury's] triple. You know, he throws across his body with the deception we talked about before the game. He executed his pitches, and we looked like we started trying to pull a little bit too much.

We didn’t square up on the balls.

Q. Can you talk about [Josh Beckett's] performance tonight?

Francona: Yeah, I thought he was good. Fourth inning he was up a little bit. Mike Lowell makes that diving catch. We limit it to one run that inning. Other than that, going into the seventh,  I think he had one 19-pitch inning, an eight and an 11. Threw a lot of good changeups to kind of slow him down. And the triple really hurt.

The way they were limiting our offense, that was obviously a big hit.

Q. Going back to Fenway, will that be enough to get the offense clicking? And what else can you do?

Francona: Well, I certainly hope so. I don’t know if I can answer that. What we’ll be trying to do is win the next game we play, that’s what we always do. I certainly hope so. We’ve had a tough time these last two games swinging the bat. That’s an understatement.

Q. Does your strategy change now that you’re 0-2, and if so, how?

Francona: No, our strategy is that we need to win. No, we need to win a game.

Q. You’ve obviously liked this team and the situation is obvious. Are there some things about this team’s character that you feel they might rise to the occasion now?

Francona: Well, I think that’s how we always feel. I’d rather not be down 0-2, because the team we’re playing is really good. If you put yourself in a position where you make a mistake, it can really cost you. But until they tell us to go home, we’ll take our team and keep going. That’s how we always feel.

Q. You said you guys were trying to pull Weaver quite a bit. What was he doing that was getting you to do that?

Francona: No, he throws, you know, like we talked about before the game, he throws across his body, a lot of deception. If you do try to pull the ball, you get yourself in trouble. That’s a lot easier said than done.

You know, he was pretty effective. Located everything. He pitched. He executed his game plan very well.

Q. In Josh’s last inning he went 3-0 on the first three hitters. Were you thinking about taking him out then? What were you thinking then?

Francona: I would never take him out after a 3-0 count. He’s thrown a three- or four-hitter going into that inning. No, I didn’t think he was tired. I thought he was fine.

We had [Billy] Wagner up for [Chone] Figgins, which we ended up going to anyway, but up to that point we were staying with Josh.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Red Sox manager Terry Francona was suffering from food poisoning prior to the start of Game 1 of the Division Series on Thursday, and so was unable to be on the field during team introductions and the national anthem. He felt little better during the game while watching his team endure a 5-0 defeat to the Angels in the opener of a best-of-five series. Here were his postgame thoughts:

Q. First of all, how do feel?

Not very well, thank you. I appreciate you asking. It’s been a tough day.

Q. Was it food poisoning? Something you ate last night, do you know?

Probably Del Taco. I know there’s a big sign they don’t support MLB, do they? They just support the Angels? Yeah, it was Del Taco (laughing).

Q. How would you assess your team’s play tonight?

Well, we gave them some extra opportunities. Lester had four walks. Three of them were to Abreu, so that line’s a little skewed. Bobby’s at bat was huge. We were actually playing back in one inning, sacrifice a run, try to stay out of a big inning. Bobby won’t give in.

So it’s first and third. Hunter’s at bat before that was so good that it makes him more dangerous, and he gets a fastball. Wanders back over and catches enough of the middle and he crushes it.

So that was huge because of the way Lackey was pitching. Three runs looked like a lot.

Q. Speaking of Lackey, was he as good as you have seen him or faced him at least?

Yeah, good. Lot of life on his fastball. Looked like he was moving both ways. Threw enough breaking balls we had to respect that, and he was able to locate his fastball again with two different directions. He was good. He was real good.

Q. When you came out to talk to [First-base umpire] CB Buckner, what was your kind of main complaint or beef there?

Don’t bring up the word beef, please. I didn’t think he got the call right.

Q. 7th inning, your reliever, Ramon, looked a little rattled. Were you a little disappointed in how he reacted to this situation?

I thought he looked a little amped up. Yeah, I agree. He walked Bobby, which can happen. Gets Torii. And then we get the groundball. We’ve got a chance at worst one, maybe two. He looked a little overexcited. Hopefully, next time out he’ll be a little better.

It has almost become too inevitable. Year after year, fate has destined the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels to square off against each other in the first-round of the postseason. That is how it was in 2004. That’s how it was in 2007 and 2008. And that’s how it is now in 2009.

It has almost become too predictable. The Angels will give the nod to their hard-throwing ace John Lackey and the Red Sox will send to the mound their home-grown left-hander Jon Lester to ignite the best-of-five set, the same match-up that took place to start the ALDS a year ago.

Finishing the regular season as victors of the AL wild card, the Red Sox (95-67) find themselves in the same position as last season — traveling 3,000 miles to begin their quest for the eighth World Series title in franchise history, and the third of the decade. The Angels (97-65) finished with the second-best record in the American League, in the process securing home-field advantage for at least the ALDS.

When Lester (15-8, 3.41 ERA) takes the mound in the bottom of the first inning, he might recall his brilliant outing in Game 1 of the ALDS from a year ago. On Oct. 1, 2008, Lester hurled seven strong innings, striking out seven and walking one to earn the win in the Sox’ 4-1 victory, allowing only one unearned run.

Days later, the left-hander would be summoned in Game 4 of the series, where he blanked the Angels over seven shutout innings, but received a no-decision as the bullpen blew the save in the eighth. The Sox won the game 3-2, however, sending them to face off in what would be a seven-game, dramatic series loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, a game in which Lester insists that he was throwing as well as at any time in 2008.

In his postseason career, Lester owns a 2-2 record with a minuscule 2.25 ERA in seven appearances, five which were starts, memorably including his victory in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series clincher against the Colorado Rockies.

Though Lester enjoyed tremendous success against the Angels last October, the Halos have challenged him during the regular season. In four starts, Lester has a 1-1 record and a robust 7.78 ERA against the team. Angels outfielder Bobby Abreu has seen Lester more times than any other hitter on the Halos’ roster, batting .308 in 14 plate appearances with two doubles, one walk, and one strikeout.

For the Angels, the fiery Lackey (11-8, 3.83) continues to search for his first postseason win against the BoSox. In Game 1 of the ALDS last year, Lackey held the Red Sox scoreless for six innings before surrendering a two-run home run to Jason Bay in the seventh. Lackey would get two outs in the inning before exiting and ultimately being tagged with the loss.

In his rookie campaign in 2002, Lackey was unbeatable in the postseason, leading the way with a 2-0 record in five appearances and three starts including a Game 7 WS win vs. the San Francisco Giants to crown the Angels champions. Since then, Lackey has yet to record a playoff win, posting an 0-3 mark with a 4.00 ERA in six starts. Two of the three losses came against the Sox — one in 2007 and the other in 2008.

In the regular season, Lackey has not fared much better opposing the Red Sox. The Texas native has gone 3-7 with an 5.25 ERA in 14 career starts. His most recent loss came on Sept. 15 where he limited Boston to three runs (two earned) in seven innings but was handed the defeat in the 4-1 Sox victory. Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez has hammered Lackey in the past, collecting a .476 batting average in 25 plate appearances.

Now, feeling like deja vu for both teams, the Sox look to continue to ride on Lester’s hot streak while the Angels hope they can end their seemingly never-ending pursuit to walk away with a playoff series win against the Red Sox.

Here is how both pitchers have matched up against their opponent’s batters:

Jon Lester vs. Angels batters

Bobby Abreu (14 career plate appearances ) .308 AVG, .357 OBP, .462 SLG, 2 doubles, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Vladimir Guerrero (11) .400, .455, .500, 1 double, 1 walk

Chone Figgans (9) .250, .222, .375, 1 double, 1 strikeout

Maicer Izturis (9) .375,  .444, .625, 2 doubles, 1 walk

Gary Matthews, Jr. (8) 3-for-6, 2 home runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Robb Quinlan (7 ) 1-for-7, 1 strikeout

Juan Rivera (6) 2-for5, 1 double, 1 walk

Howie Kendrick (5) 2-for-5, 1 double

Erick Aybar (4) 2-for-3, 1 walk

Jeff Mathis (4) 1-for-4, 1 double, 1 strikeout

Torii Hunter (3) 2-for-3, 1 double

Mike Napoli (3) 0-for-3, 1 strikeout

Reggie Willits (3) 2-for-2, 1 walk

John Lackey vs. Red Sox batters

David Ortiz (37 career plate appearances) .333 AVG, .405 OBP, .667 SLG, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts

Jason Varitek (30) .185, .267, .296, 3 doubles, 3 walks, 11 strikeouts

Victor Martinez (25) .476, .560, .524, 1 double, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts

J.D. Drew (22) .300, .364, .550, 1 double, 2 triples, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Mike Lowell (22) .143, .182, .143, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

Rocco Baldelli (17) .176, .176, .176, 6 strikeouts

Dustin Pedroia (17) .375, .412, .500, 2 doubles, 1 walk

Kevin Youkilis (17) .294, .294, .647, 2 home runs, 2 strikeouts

Alex Gonzalez (11) .364, .364, .455, 1 double, 2 strikeouts

Jacoby Ellsbury (10) 2-for-10, 2 strikeouts

Chris Woodward (5) 0-for-4, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Jason Bay (4) 1-for-2, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Brian Anderson (3) 0-for-3

Joey Gathright (3) 1-for-2, 1 hit-by-pitch

Casey Kotchman (3) 1-for-3, 1 strikeout

The Yankees made official their selection of a Wednesday start to their American League Division Series against the winner of the A.L. Central, which will be determined by the one-game playoff between the Tigers and Twins on Tuesday. As a result, the Red Sox and Angels will start their series on Thursday, with Game 1 being played at 9:37 pm EST and Game 2 being played on Friday at the same time.