Manager Season Dates 5 Oct 2004 – 9 Oct 2004 | Manager Season Location United States of America | |
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Television Fox (Games 1, 4)
ESPN (Games 2–3) TV announcers Joe Buck, Tim McCarver (Game 1)
Jon Miller, Joe Morgan (Games 2–3)
Josh Lewin, Steve Lyons (Game 4) Radio announcers Dan Shulman, Dave Campbell Umpires Charlie Reliford, Mark Wegner, Brian Gorman, Mike Everitt, Jerry Crawford, Paul Nauert Similar 2003 American League D, 2002 American League D, 2006 American League D, 1998 American League D, 2000 American League D | ||
The 2004 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2004 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 5, and ended on Saturday, October 9, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were:
Contents
- New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins
- Anaheim Angels vs Boston Red Sox
- Game 1 October 5
- Game 2 October 6
- Game 3 October 8
- Game 4 October 9
- Composite box
- References
The higher seed (in parentheses) had the home field advantage. The Angels received home field advantage rather than the Twins due to their winning the season series 6–4 against Minnesota. Although the team with the best record was normally intended to play the wild card team, the Yankees played the Twins, rather than the wild card Red Sox, because the Yankees and Red Sox are in the same division.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox went on to meet in the AL Championship Series (ALCS). The Red Sox became the American League champion, and defeated the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series for their first World Championship since 1918.
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins
New York won the series, 3–1.
Anaheim Angels vs. Boston Red Sox
Boston won the series, 3–0.
Game 1, October 5
Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York
Pitching dominated in Game 1 as Mike Mussina faced Johan Santana. The Twins got on the board first when Shannon Stewart singled home Michael Cuddyer. Then in the sixth, Jacque Jones hit a solo home run to make it 2–0. The Yankees got nine hits and numerous walks but never capitalized on Santana, Juan Rincón, or closer Joe Nathan as the Yankees hit into five double plays. As of 2016, this is the last postseason game won by the Twins.
Game 2, October 6
Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York
Brad Radke faced Jon Lieber in a must-win game for the Yankees. It was arguably the best game of the series. In the top of the first, Justin Morneau doubled in Torii Hunter to give the Twins a 1–0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Derek Jeter led off the game with a game-tying home run to make it a 1–1 game. A single by Cuddyer and a sac fly by Henry Blanco made it 3–1 Twins. But Gary Sheffield would tie the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third. Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run. He would also add in another run by singling home Miguel Cairo to make it 5–3 Yankees. A passed third strike allowed the Twins to tie the game. Torii Hunter would single to put runners on first and second. Mariano Rivera came in but the Twins were still able to tie the game. A single by Morneau and a ground-rule double by Corey Koskie would be the tying-run scorers. However, the ground-rule double cost the Twins a run and would never be able to score that run as Jason Kubel and Cristian Guzmán went down. The game went into extra innings and in the top of the 12th, Torii Hunter hit the go-ahead solo home run. The Twins were on the verge of putting the Yankees down two games to none, heading home. But Twins manager Ron Gardenhire made the already questionable move of leaving closer Joe Nathan in for a third inning of work. Nathan got the first out, but then walked Cairo and Jeter on four pitches each. Nathan clearly had nothing left, but was still left in the game to pitch to Alex Rodriguez, who hit a ground-rule double that tied the game. Then, after Sheffield was intentionally walked, Hideki Matsui hit the game-winning sacrifice fly that scored Jeter.
Game 3, October 8
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Yankees starter Kevin Brown faced Twins hurler Carlos Silva in the crucial Game 3. The Twins grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first when Jacque Jones hit his second home run of the series. But it would be the last time the Twins would lead in this game. With two outs in the second, five straight singles gave the Yankees a three-run rally to put themselves ahead 3–1. Then, as the night wore on, the Yanks would blow the game wide open in the sixth. Bernie Williams hit a two-run homer after Matsui singled to lead off the inning. Then Derek Jeter added a two-run single to make it 7–1 Yankees. Brown hurled six innings, giving up only one run to the Twins. Matsui would homer in the seventh inning to make it 8–1 going into the ninth. The Twins, however, would not go quietly. Two consecutive hit-by-pitches to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning by Felix Heredia gave the Twins some life. Then, Tanyon Sturtze came on in relief and gave up two consecutive hits to make it 8–2. An RBI groundout and a sac fly made it 8–4, but the game was too far out of reach as the Yanks won.
Game 4, October 9
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Javier Vázquez went against Johan Santana, who pitched so well in Game 1. The Twins were on the board first with a sacrifice fly by Torii Hunter. But the Yankees would tie it on an RBI single by Hideki Matsui in the third. Another sac fly untied the score and gave the Twins the lead back in the fourth. Henry Blanco led the bottom of the fifth off with a home run to make it 3–1 Twins. A two-run double by Lew Ford extended the Twins' lead to 5–1 later in the inning. However, the Twins would squander the lead in the top of the eighth with Juan Rincón pitching in relief. Bernie Williams would single home Gary Sheffield after a single and wild pitch. With Matsui and Williams on base and one out, Rubén Sierra hit the game-tying three-run home run to make it tied at five. Joe Nathan would come on in relief and get the next two outs. But, once again, the Twins blew the lead and a sense of déjà vu hung in the air. When the game moved to extra innings, Mariano Rivera came on and shut the Twins down. But the series would end when Alex Rodriguez doubled, stole third, and scored on Kyle Lohse's wild pitch in the top of the eleventh. Rivera would get the win as he retired the Twins 1–2–3 to end the series in the bottom of the eleventh.
Composite box
2004 ALDS (3–1): New York Yankees over Minnesota Twins
Game 1, October 5
Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California
Game 1 pitched Curt Schilling against Jarrod Washburn. The Red Sox struck first when David Ortiz singled home Manny Ramírez. In the fourth, the Red Sox put the game away. After Ortiz walked to open the inning, Kevin Millar homered to make it 3–0. Then the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out. Johnny Damon would reach on an error by Chone Figgins that scored two unearned runs to make it 5–0. After Mark Bellhorn struck out, Manny Ramírez hit a three-run home run to make it 8–0. The Angels would score three and never come close as the Red Sox won. This was the game where Schilling injured his ankle.
Game 2, October 6
Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California
Pedro Martínez faced Bartolo Colón. A bases-loaded walk for the Red Sox in the second put them ahead 1–0. But the Angels would tie it in the bottom half with an RBI single by Dallas McPherson. The Angels would take their only lead in the series when Vladimir Guerrero, the eventual MVP, singled home Jose Molina and David Eckstein. The Red Sox immediately responded when Jason Varitek hit a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game in the sixth. The Sox would take the lead on a sacrifice fly by Manny Ramírez in the seventh. The Red Sox finished off the Angels in the ninth, an inning capped off with a bases-loaded double by Orlando Cabrera.
Game 3, October 8
Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts
Kelvim Escobar and Bronson Arroyo faced off in the clincher. The Red Sox once again struck first with a single and a groundout that made it 2–0 in the third. The Angels cut the lead in half when Troy Glaus hit a solo home run in the fourth. Numerous errors by the Angels' defense opened the door for a three-run rally in the bottom of the inning to make it 5–1. Manny Ramírez would single home another run in the fifth to make it 6–1 Red Sox. It appeared as if the Angels were down and out. The Angels would load the bases thanks to two walks and a single. After Chone Figgins struck out, Darin Erstad walked to force in a run that made it 6–2. With two outs and the bases loaded, Mike Timlin then threw to Vladimir Guerrero and paid. Guerrero hit a grand slam to right that evened the score at 6–6 and stunned the Fenway crowd. The game went to extra innings and, in the bottom of the tenth, Johnny Damon led off with a single. After Pokey Reese forced him and Ramirez struck out, David Ortiz hit a series-winning walk-off home run off Jarrod Washburn, in relief of Francisco Rodríguez, over the Green Monster.
Composite box
2004 ALDS (3–0): Boston Red Sox over Anaheim Angels