Angels have a reason to celebrate

Anaheim rally to beat Oakland, 5-4, to clinch the AL West championship.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Anaheim Angels capped a stirring comeback with one final rally, and now they're champions of the AL West for the first time in 18 years.
Chasing Oakland and Texas for most of the season, the Angels scored three times in the eighth inning to beat the Athletics 5-4 Saturday and clinch the division title.
Darin Erstad hit a tying, two-run double and scored on Garret Anderson's single as the Angels earned their first playoff berth since 2002, when they won the World Series as the wild-card team.
Vladimir Guerrero homered for the Angels, who trailed Oakland by two games last Monday. But after beating the A's 10-0 Friday night, Anaheim won again to wrap it up going into today's season finale.
It's still not sure who the Angels will face in the first round of the playoffs -- it will either be the New York Yankees or Boston.
The A's had won the division in three of the past four years, and made the playoffs in all of those seasons. They had lost in the first round each time.
Oakland's Eric Byrnes grabbed his helmet in disbelief and frustration when he flied out to left to end it, and a celebration ensued on the mound by the Angels.
ANAHEIMOAKLAND
abrhbiabrhbi
Figgins 3b5220Kotsay cf5110
Erstad 1b3112Byrnes lf4110
VGrero rf3112EChavz 3b3022
Glaus dh4000Durazo dh4000
GAndsn cf4021Dye rf3110
ARiggs lf3000Httberg 1b4000
DVnon lf1000DMiller c2111
Eckstin ss4000McMln ph1000
BMolna c3010Mlhuse c0000
Paul c0100Crosby ss4000
Amzga 2b2000Scutaro 2b3011
Pride ph1000McLmr ph1000
Halter 3b1000
Totals34575Totals34474
Anaheim000002030--5
Oakland002002000--4
E--Hatteberg (10), Crosby (19). DP--Oakland 1. LOB--Anaheim 5, Oakland 7. 2B--Erstad (29), EChavez (20), DMiller (25). HR--VGuerrero (39). SB--Paul (2), Dye (4).
IPHRERBBSO
Anaheim
KEscobar5 1-364436
Donnelly W,5-21 2-310003
FRodriguez100013
Percival S,33100000
Oakland
Zito732213
Mecir1-322201
RRincon L,1-1011110
Dotel1 2-310013
RRincon pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. Umpires--Home, Gary Darling; First, Bill Hohn; Second, Mark Carlson; Third, Brian Runge. T--3:01. A--42,832.
Blue Jays 4, Yankees 2
TORONTO -- Roy Halladay pitched eight strong innings Saturday to help Toronto beat Kevin Brown.
Brown (10-6), auditioning for a spot in the Yankees' postseason rotation, held the Blue Jays to one hit -- Vernon Wells' double in the fourth -- and one unearned run through five innings.
Brown missed three weeks after breaking his left hand when he punched a clubhouse wall on Sept. 3, and was hit hard in his return, getting just two outs at Boston last Sunday.
With Orlando Hernandez struggling with a tired arm, Brown might start Game 3 of the playoffs. Mike Mussina is likely to start Tuesday's playoff opener, followed by Jon Lieber in Game 2.
Two days after clinching their seventh straight AL East title, the Yankees started just two regulars, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui. Posada left the game in the fifth with stiffness in his back.
Yankees manager Joe Torre served a one-game suspension because one of his pitchers threw at a batter after warnings were issued in Boston last Sunday. Bench coach Willie Randolph replaced Torre.
NEW YORKTORONTO
abrhbiabrhbi
Lofton cf4120Adams ss4110
Matsui lf1000OHudsn 2b4121
Crosby lf3010VWells cf3110
JaGbi dh4110CDlgdo 1b2100
Posada c2010Rios rf3010
Flherty c1010Hinske 3b4000
TClark ph1001Zaun c4012
Sierra rf4000Gross lf4000
Olerud 1b3011Crozier dh3000
Phillips 3b3010
EWilsn 2b3000
Esclna ss3000
Totals32282Totals31463
New York000000101--2
Toronto00010210x--4
E--Olerud (2), EWilson (8). DP--Toronto 2. LOB--New York 3, Toronto 8. 2B--Crosby (2), Olerud (20), VWells (34), Zaun (24). 3B--Adams (1), OHudson (7). SB--Hinske (12).
IPHRERBBSO
New York
KBrown L,10-6511022
Loaiza1 2-343321
Heredia1-310010
MRivera100001
Toronto
Halladay W,8-8861105
MBatista S,5121100
WP--Heredia. PB--Posada. Umpires--Home, Jerry Crawford; First, Brian O'Nora; Second, James Hoye; Third, Phil Cuzzi. T--2:18. A--50,498.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.