Pitching duel is set for Game 3 of ALCS

Pitching duel is set for Game 3 of ALCS

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte: The postseason ace vs. that ol’ October pro.

With the best-of-seven AL championship series tied at one apiece, the scene shifts to Yankee Stadium for Game 3 on Monday night, when a pair of pressure-proven pitchers will be back in the spotlight.

Lee’s left arm has been baseball’s most dominant force in the past two postseasons, carrying him to a 6-0 mark with a 1.44 ERA and three complete games in seven starts.

He’ll be on the mound for the Texas Rangers against Pettitte, who has an outstanding October resume of his own. The longtime Yankees lefty is going for his 20th postseason win.

“Obviously, it’s a great matchup,” New York manager Joe Girardi said Sunday, when the Yankees and Rangers worked out under blue skies in the Bronx. “I think people are looking forward to tomorrow.”

Coming off the first home playoff win in the franchise’s 50-season history, the Rangers are back on the road — where they’re unbeaten in these playoffs. Texas won all three first-round games at AL East champion Tampa Bay, including a pair of masterpieces by Lee.

Next, he’ll try to join Orlando Hernandez and Orel Hershiser as the only pitchers to win their first seven postseason decisions. Hernandez opened 8-0 for the Yankees from 1998-2000, while Hershiser went 7-0 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians from 1985-95.

“I’ve got high expectations for myself. Regardless of what’s happened in the past or what other people expect of me, I expect as much out of myself or more than anybody is going to expect of me,” Lee said.