2002 American League Championship Series
Encyclopedia
Game 1
Tuesday, October 8, 2002 at Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
Joe Mays
Joe Mays
Joeseph Emerson Mays is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher.Mays is a 1994 graduate of Southeast High School in Bradenton, Florida. He also attended Manatee Community College in Bradenton. He and his wife, Melinda , have two children.Mays began his major league career with the...
outdueled Kevin Appier
Kevin Appier
Robert Kevin Appier is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and Anaheim Angels.-Kansas City Royals:...
as the Twins won Game 1. A.J. Pierzynski hit a sac fly to put the Twins out in front first, but the Angels tied it the next inning on an error by Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Guzmán
Cristian Antonio Guzmán is a Dominican baseball player who plays second base and shortstop, who is currently a free agent.-Minnesota Twins:...
. The Twins would take a one-run lead when Corey Koskie
Corey Koskie
Cordel Leonard "Corey" Koskie is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.-Baseball career:...
doubled in a run in the fifth. The game would remain scoreless and Eddie Guardado
Eddie Guardado
Edward Adrian Guardado is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Throughout his career, Guardado had played with the Minnesota Twins , Seattle Mariners , Cincinnati Reds , and the Rangers .His common nickname is "Everyday Eddie", a testament to his durable arm during his first stint with the...
would get the save.
Game 2
Wednesday, October 9, 2002 at Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
The Angels would take their first lead in the series when Darin Erstad
Darin Erstad
Darin Charles Erstad is the Head Coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team and a former Major League Baseball outfielder/first baseman. Prior to , he had played with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise before signing with the Chicago White Sox in 2007...
hit a solo home run in the first with one out. The Angels would score three more in the second. Scott Spiezio
Scott Spiezio
Scott Edward Spiezio is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He is currently an infielder for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League . He is well known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a 3-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against the...
would double in the first run of the inning. In a bizarre play, Spiezio stole home while Adam Kennedy
Adam Kennedy
Adam Thomas Kennedy is an American Major League Baseball second baseman who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners and had two stints with the St. Louis Cardinals.-Early years:Kennedy...
tried to steal second. He was caught up in the rundown and knocked the ball away from Pierzynski, although no one called interference. Adam Kennedy went to third and would score on David Eckstein
David Eckstein
David Mark Eckstein is a former American professional baseball player who was an infielder in Major League Baseball for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida, and has played professionally for the Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona...
's RBI single to make it 4–0 Angels. A two-run homer by Brad Fullmer
Brad Fullmer
Bradley Ryan Fullmer is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In an eight year career, he played for the Montreal Expos , Toronto Blue Jays , Anaheim Angels , and the Texas Rangers .He hit a home run in his first major league at bat on September 2, 1997...
gave the Angels a six-run lead. A three-run sixth inning, capped off by a two-run Doug Mientkiewicz
Doug Mientkiewicz
Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz is a first baseman who last appeared in the majors in with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed...
single, cut the lead in half. Troy Percival
Troy Percival
Troy Eugene Percival is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career, he pitched from 1995-2009 for four different teams, pitching primarily with the California/Anaheim Angels...
would save the game as the score remained unchanged.
Game 3
Friday, October 11, 2002 at Edison International Field of AnaheimAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
Garrett Anderson started the scoring by hitting a lead-off home run in the second. Eric Milton
Eric Milton
Eric Robert Milton is a former American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball...
and Jarrod Washburn
Jarrod Washburn
Jarrod Michael Washburn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and currently resides in his hometown of Webster, Wisconsin.-High school / college:...
dueled for seven innings. The game was tied thanks to an RBI double by Jacque Jones
Jacque Jones
Jacque Dewayne Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder who currently is a free agent-Early life:...
in the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, Troy Glaus
Troy Glaus
Troy Edward Glaus is a Major League Baseball first baseman and third baseman who is currently a free agent. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels , Arizona Diamondbacks , Toronto Blue Jays , St. Louis Cardinals , and the Atlanta Braves . Glaus lettered in baseball while attending UCLA...
hit the go-ahead home run to put the Angels on top 2–1. Troy Percival
Troy Percival
Troy Eugene Percival is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career, he pitched from 1995-2009 for four different teams, pitching primarily with the California/Anaheim Angels...
got the save in the ninth and red-hot reliever Francisco Rodríguez got the win in relief of Washburn.
Game 4
Saturday, October 12, 2002 at Edison International Field of AnaheimAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
The game remained scoreless into the seventh inning as Brad Radke
Brad Radke
Brad William Radke is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played his entire 12 season career with the Minnesota Twins. Radke won 148 career games and was one of the most consistent pitchers in the Twins organization during the late 90's...
and John Lackey
John Lackey
John Derran Lackey is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Lackey was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title in 2002, which was his first season in the major leagues...
waged a classic pitcher's duel. But, the Angels would strike in the bottom of the seventh. Troy Glaus and Scott Spiezio drove in two runs in that inning to make it 2–0 Angels. But, the Angels would seek insurance and got plenty of it. A five-run eighth inning, capped off by a two-run double by Brad Fullmer and a two-run triple by Bengie Molina
Bengie Molina
Benjamin José "Bengie" Molina , nicknamed "Big Money", is a former Major League Baseball catcher.He is the older brother of major league catchers José Molina and Yadier Molina....
, would seal the win.
Game 5
Sunday, October 13, 2002 at Edison International Field of AnaheimAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
Game 1 winner Joe Mays took the mound to try to send the series back to the Metrodome. He was opposed by Kevin Appier and things certainly looked good for the Twins early. David Ortiz
David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias , known as David Ortiz, nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican American professional baseball player who is currently a free agent. Previously, Ortiz played with the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox...
drove in the first run of the game in the first to make it 1–0 Twins. The next inning, A.J. Pierzynski singled in a run to make it 2–0. But the lead would be cut in half on an Adam Kennedy
Adam Kennedy
Adam Thomas Kennedy is an American Major League Baseball second baseman who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners and had two stints with the St. Louis Cardinals.-Early years:Kennedy...
home run. Then, the Angels would take the lead in the bottom of the fifth. A leadoff homer by Scott Spiezio and the second home run of the day by Kennedy make it 3–2 Angels. A bases-loaded walk, however, tied the game at three in the seventh. Then, a wild pitch and a sac fly gave the Twins a 5–3 lead. But the Angels would put the game and the series away with one of the most offensive half-innings in postseason history. Two straight singles by the Angels put two on and nobody out for Kennedy. Having only hit seven homers during the regular season, hitting three would be very unlikely in one game. He would then join a small group of players ever to hit three home runs in a single postseason game. His three-run homer gave the Angels a 6–5 lead. But the Angels were far from done. They would score seven more runs in the inning, mostly on singles. The Angels would never let up and they would go on to win the series and their first ever pennant.
Composite box
2002 ALCS (4–1): Anaheim AngelsLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
over Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...