OPINION

By Stan McNeal

updated 3:29 a.m. ET Oct. 23, 2009

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The seventh inning of Game 5 of the ALCS won't soon be forgotten by the Angels, the Yankees or anyone who watched Thursday night.

"Nine runs in one inning. That doesn't happen in the postseason," said Angels reliever Kevin Jepsen, who gave up a two-run triple to Robinson Cano that allowed the Yankees to take a two-run lead after they began the inning trailing 4-0.

The Yankees' rally was followed with three runs by the Angels to regain a lead L.A. would not lose in claiming a 7-6 victory that sends the series back to New York for Game 6 on Saturday night. The scoring outbursts were only part of the craziness.

In the inning, every player but one in both lineups went to bat. The Yankees' Nick Swisher batted twice, and made two outs. At least one glove was thrown in the Angels' dugout ("I was (upset)," Torii Hunter said. At least one pitcher (John Lackey) lost his cool. Four pitching changes were made, one too early and one not early enough.

Let's look here at the two pitching changes.

First, the too early move: Mike Scioscia's decision to pull Lackey.

The Angels starter had shut out the Yankees for the first six innings but, after retiring Swisher to lead off the seventh, Lackey gave up a double to Melky Cabrera and walked Jorge Posada when his full-count fastball was just low. Lackey flapped his arms at umpire Fieldin Culbreth in frustration, then promptly walked Derek Jeter on four pitches. After Johnny Damon flied out for the second out, Scioscia pulled his starter.

Lackey, as usual, wasn't happy to leave. "I told him it's my game," Lackey said.

"If I went with my heart, I would have left John in," Scioscia said. "But my head said let's turn (Mark Teixeira) around. Make him hit from the right side so he would have to hit to the biggest part of the ballpark. (Lackey) might have had enough to get Tex out, but I thought to turn (Teixeira) around was the move."

In came lefty Darren Oliver, who had not given up a run or allowed an inherited runner to score in six postseason outings. Teixeira, meanwhile, was 2-for-18 coming into Game 5 but 2-for-3 with a walk in his career against Oliver. On the first pitch, Teixiera smoked a bases-clearing double to, yes, the biggest part of the ballpark.

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Three batters later, the Yankees had a two-run lead. "Obviously, it didn't work out," Scioscia said.

Then it was decision time for Yankees manager Joe Girardi. He left in his starter, A.J. Burnett, who had shut out the Angels in innings 2-6 after allowing the first four hitters he faced to score in the first.

"He had only thrown 80 pitches," Girardi said. "If he's around 105, it's probably a different story."

Burnett would be gone soon enough. Jeff Mathis singled and Erick Aybar walked, and Girardi went to his bullpen.

Girardi made another move that didn't work in the inning when he brought in Phil Hughes in a situation that in the postseason has belonged mostly to Joba Chamberlain.

Hughes gave the Angels back the lead when he walked Torii Hunter and gave up run-scoring singles to Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales. Hughes then struck out Maicer Izturis to end the inning. What an inning it was.

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