The 2004

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

(ALDS), the opening round of the 2004

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor 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: *(1)

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

(Eastern Division champion, 101–61) vs. (3) Minnesota Twins (Central Division champion, 92–70): Yankees win series, 3–1. *(2)

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

(Western Division champion, 92–70) vs. (4)

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(Wild Card, 98–64): Red Sox win series, 3–0. 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 The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

in the

2004 World Series The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

for their first World Championship since 1918.

Matchups

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

Anaheim Angels vs. Boston Red Sox

New York vs. Minnesota

Game 1

Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York Pitching dominated in Game 1 as

Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...

faced

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

. The Twins got on the board first when Shannon Stewart singled home

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-han ...

, who singled to leadoff and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. 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 Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cu ...

, hitting into five double plays (including a strikeout-caught stealing play in the second and fly ball-out at home play in the third). , this is the last postseason game won by the Twins.

Game 2

Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York Brad Radke of the Twins faced Jon Lieber of the Yankees in Game 2. In the top of the first,

Justin Morneau Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and , ...

doubled in Torii Hunter to give the Twins a 1–0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Derek Jeter's leadoff home run tied the score. A single by

with two on and sacrifice fly by

Henry Blanco Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former player. He is currently the catching and strategy coach for the Washington Nationals. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1997 to ...

made it 3–1 Twins, but Gary Sheffield tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third.

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

gave the Yankees the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run. He added in another run in the seventh by singling home

Miguel Cairo Miguel Jesús Cairo i'-row(born May 4, 1974), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and most recently the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine different clubs in a 17-year car ...

, who drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, to make it 5–3 Yankees. Jacque Jones reached first on a strike three wild pitch from

Tom Gordon Thomas Flynn Gordon (born November 18, 1967), nicknamed "Flash," is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox. Gordon played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Ka ...

, then Torii Hunter singled to put runners on first and second in the eighth.

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

came in but, a single by Morneau and a ground-rule double by

Corey Koskie Cordel Leonard "Corey" Koskie (born June 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers. On February 4, 2015, Koskie was ele ...

scored a run each, tying the game, but with the go-ahead run at third, Rivera retired Jason Kubel and Cristian Guzmán to end the inning. The game went into extra innings and in the top of the 12th,

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

hit the go-ahead solo home run off of

Tanyon Sturtze Tanyon James Sturtze (born October 12, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Early life and education He attended Saint Peter-Marian High School then Quinsigamond Community College and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1 ...

. The Twins were on the verge of putting the Yankees down two games to none, heading home, but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire left closer Joe Nathan in for a third inning of work, despite having two solid relievers still yet to be used in the game. Nathan got the first out, but then walked Cairo and Jeter on four pitches each, after which Gardenhire still chose to leave Nathan in despite his clearly having nothing left and Alex Rodriguez coming up. Rodriguez promptly hit a ground-rule double that tied the game. Then, after Sheffield was intentionally walked,

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

hit the game-winning sacrifice fly that scored Jeter off of J.C. Romero. Paul Quantrill earned a win by retiring the last hitter of the top of the 11th as the Yankees tied the series heading to Minnesota.

Game 3

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota Yankees starter

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

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 with two outs in the second, five straight singles gave the Yankees a 3–1 lead. Then, as the night wore on, the Yanks blew the game open in the sixth.

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...

hit a two-run homer after Matsui singled to lead off the inning. After a single, walk, sacrifice bunt and strikeout from J.C. Romero, Derek Jeter added a two-run single off of Jesse Crain to make it 7–1 Yankees. Brown hurled six innings, while

's home run in the seventh inning to make it 8–1 Yankees. The Twins, however, did not go quietly. Two consecutive hit-by-pitches to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning by

Félix Heredia Félix Heredia Pérez (born June 18, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. On October 18, 2005, he became the 11th MLB player to be suspended for testing positive for steroids. He is also known as "El Gato Flaco" (Skinny Cat in ...

was followed by two singles off of

, the second of which by

scored a run.

relieved Sturtze and allowed a groundout by Jose Offerman and sacrifice fly by Shannon Stewart before Jones grounded out to end the game as the Yankees' 8–4 win gave them a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota Javier Vázquez of the Yankees went against

of the Twins, who were on the board first with a sacrifice fly by

in the first after back-to-back singles. But the Yankees tied it in the third when Derek Jeter hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on an RBI single by

. A walk and double in the fourth was followed by

's sacrifice fly that put the Twins back in front 2–1.

led the bottom of the fifth off with a home run to make it 3–1 Twins. Two two-out singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before a two-run double by Lew Ford extended the Twins' lead to 5–1. However, the Twins squandered 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 Rubén Angel Sierra García (born October 6, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Sierra goes by the nicknames ''El Caballo'' and ''El Indio''. Over 20 seasons, Sierra played for the Texas Rangers (1986–92, 2000–01, 2003), ...

hit the game-tying three-run home run.

would come on in relief and get the next two outs. The game went into extra innings and Alex Rodriguez doubled, stole third, and scored on

Kyle Lohse Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, an ...

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

in the top of the 11th to put the Yankees up 6–5.

got the win with two shutout innings as he retired the Twins 1–2–3 to end the series in the bottom of the 11th.

Composite box

2004 ALDS (3–1):

over Minnesota Twins

Anaheim vs. Boston

Game 1

Angel Stadium of Anaheim Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Ange ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

Game 1 pitched

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

against

Jarrod Washburn Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, and Detroit Tigers over the course of a 12–year Major League Baseball (MLB) ca ...

. The Red Sox struck first when David Ortiz singled home

Manny Ramírez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...

, who doubled with two outs. In the fourth, the Red Sox blew the game open. 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 Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

would reach on an error by Chone Figgins that scored two unearned runs to make it 5–0. Scot Shields relieved Washburn and after Mark Bellhorn struck out, Manny Ramírez hit a three-run home run to make it 8–0 Red Sox.

Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (; born August 3, 1976) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman. Glaus played in Major League Baseball with the Anaheim Angels (–), Arizona Diamondbacks (), Toronto Blue Jays (–), St. Lou ...

' home run in the bottom of the inning put the Angels on the board. In the seventh,

Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (; born June 4, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and the former head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball, baseball team. Erstad spent most of his playing caree ...

homered off of Schilling with one out. Garret Anderson reached on Schilling's throwing error before scoring on Glaus's double, but Alan Embree and Mike Timlin held them scoreless for the rest of the game while the Red Sox added run in the eighth on

Doug Mientkiewicz Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz ( ; born June 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1998 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Minnesota Twins wher ...

's RBI single with two on off of Ramon Ortiz.

Game 2

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

of the Red Sox faced

Bartolo Colón Bartolo Colón (born May 24, 1973), nicknamed "Big Sexy," is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for 11 different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago ...

of the Angels. A bases-loaded walk to

Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, L ...

for the Red Sox in the second put them ahead 1–0. However, the Angels would tie it in the bottom half with an RBI single by Dallas McPherson after a leadoff walk and single. The Angels would take their only lead in the series when

Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero Sr. (born February 9, 1975), nicknamed "Vlad the Impaler", is a Dominican former professional baseball player who spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right fielder and designated hitter. He played for ...

, the eventual MVP, singled home Jose Molina and

David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professiona ...

with the bases loaded. The Red Sox immediately responded when

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded ...

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 off of Francisco Rodriguez, then padded their lead in the ninth off of Brendan Donnelly. Ramirez doubled with one out and after an intentional walk, scored on Trot Nixon's single. After a two-out intentional walk loaded the bases, Orlando Cabrera cleared them with a double.

Keith Foulke Keith Charles Foulke ( ; born October 19, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas, Foulke attended Galveston College and Lewis–Clark State College. Between 1997 and 2008, h ...

retired the Angels in order in the bottom of the inning as the Red Sox's 8–3 win gave them a 2–0 series lead.

Game 3

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

in Boston, Massachusetts

Kelvim Escobar Kelvim José Escobar Bolívar (born April 11, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1997–2003) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007, 2009). He won 101 games, but his career ...

of the Angels and

Bronson Arroyo Bronson Anthony Arroyo (born February 24, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and musician. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2000 and 2002, the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005, the ...

of the Red Sox faced off in the clincher. The Red Sox once again struck first with runners on second and third when Trot Nixon's single and Kevin Millar's groundout made it 2–0 in the third. The Angels cut the lead in half when

hit a home run in the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, a single, error and walk loaded the bases before

's sacrifice fly made it 3–1 Red Sox. Scot Shields relieved Escobar and allowed an RBI double to David Ortiz. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, another Angel error allowed Mark Bellhorn to score to make it 5–1 Red Sox. Ramirez's RBI single with two on next inning increased the lead to 6–1. It appeared as if the Angels were down and out, but they loaded the bases in the top of the seventh thanks to two walks and a single. After Chone Figgins struck out,

walked to force in a run that made it 6–2. Mike Timlin then threw to Vladimir Guerrero, who 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 Calvin "Pokey" Reese, Jr. (born June 10, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. Reese played with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox, he won the 2004 World Series over the St. Louis ...

forced him and Ramirez struck out,

relieved Francisco Rodríguez and David Ortiz hit the series-winning two-run home run over the

Green Monster The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. The wall is from home plate and is a popular target for right-handed hitters. Overview The wall was part ...

to send the Red Sox to the ALCS for the second straight year.

Composite box

2004 ALDS (3–0):

over

Notes

External links

NYY vs. MIN at Baseball-ReferenceBOS vs. ANA at Baseball-Reference
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