Can Angels' pitching slow down Yankees' sluggers?

Starting Pitching

	The Angels need Garret Anderson to step up and provide another power threat besides Vladimir Guerrero. AP
	Tale of the Tape AL rank in parenthesis Category Yankees Angels Head-to-Head Wins 4 6 Runs Scored 886 (2) 761 (7) Runs Allowed 789 (9) 643 (T1) Home Runs 229 (2) 147 (10) Stolen Bases 84 (6) 161 (1) K/9.0 Innings 6.18 (6) 6.89 (1) Saves-Opportunities 46-67 (5) 54-71 (1) Defensive Efficiency* .689 (10) .702 (5) * Percentage of balls in play turned into outs, as calculated by Baseball Prospectus
	G Day, Time (ET) Site Matchup 1 Tue., 8:19 p.m. LA Mussina vs. Colon 2 Wed., 10:09 p.m. LA Wang vs. Lackey 3 Fri., 8:19 p.m. NY Johnson vs. Washburn 4* Sat., TBD NY TBD 5* Sun., TBD LA TBD * If necessary Click here for complete postseason schedule

NEW YORK: After a season of turmoil, the rotation is as settled now as it has been all season. Ace lefty Randy Johnson is 8-2 since the break. Midseason pickup Aaron Small is 10-0, with eight of those wins coming as a starter. Shawn Chacon has a sub-3.00 ERA since the All-Star break. Rookie Chien-Ming Wang has looked good after missing most of July and August with a sore shoulder. But here's the biggest question facing the Yanks: Will veteran righty Mike Mussina (13-8, 4.41 ERA), who hasn't gone more than six innings in more than a month, be effective?

LOS ANGELES: The Angels don't have the name recognition of the Yankees, but they have a better staff. Bartolo Colon (21-8, 3.48 ERA) led the AL in victories and is in the mix for the Cy Young Award. John Lackey (14-5, 3.44) is in the Top 10 in the league in ERA. Lefty Jarrod Washburn (8-8, 3.20) owns the best ERA in the rotation, a group which includes crafty Paul Byrd. How good are these guys? They rank as the best rotation in the American League (a 3.73 ERA).

EDGE: Angels

Relief Pitching

NEW YORK: Closers don't get any better than Mariano Rivera (43 saves in 47 tries, a 1.38 ERA, a .177 average against), who should give the Angels' Colon a stiff challenge for the Cy Young Award. With Tom Gordon setting up Rivera, the Yankees don't need their starters to go deep into games. Right-handers Tanyon Sturtze, Felix Rodriguez and Scott Proctor fill in the bridge between the starters and the closers, with Alan Embree and Wayne Franklin the lefties.

LOS ANGELES: The Angels have a stud closer, too, in Francisco Rodriguez (44 saves in 49 tries, a 2.71 ERA, 89 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings, .186 average against). And righties Scot Shields (32 holds) and Brendan Donnelly are among the best setup men in the game, making it extremely hard for opponents to score on the Angels from about the seventh inning on. Former starter Kelvim Escobar was used effectively in September for long innings.

EDGE: Angels

Lineup

NEW YORK: Everyone knows the Yankees. Shortstop Derek Jeter (second in the AL in runs scored) at the top of the order. AL home run leader Alex Rodriguez hitting third (he had 48 longballs, and an OPS of 1.031, tops in the league). All-around terrors Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui (who, with A-Rod, give the Yanks three 100-RBI guys). On-base champ Jason Giambi. The hitting never stops. Granted, the Yanks won't station-to-station opponents. But, with hitters like that, they don't need to.

LOS ANGELES: Vladimir Guerrero (.317, 32 homers, 108 RBIs) is the biggest threat, though all-around marvel Chone Figgins (.290, a team-high 113 runs, a major-league best 62 stolen bases) can cause a fuss. Garret Anderson (17 homers, a .308 on-base percentage) has been largely disappointing, due to a chronically sore back. But he hasn't been as much of a downer as Steve Finley (a career-low .222 average wit just 12 homers).

EDGE: Yankees