ANAHEIM, Calif. — What a glorious top of the seventh inning for the New York Yankees on Thursday night, here at Angel Stadium — the place where their dreams used to die.

Textbook 2009: relentless offense, patience at the plate, the works. Six runs, 10 batters. Wow.
So what better way to build on that than . . . to bring back your starting pitcher who cooled off during the fireworks?
Yes, Joe Girardi, in a postseason underlined by his head-scratching strategy, decided to bring back A.J. Burnett, who had endured a four-run first inning to put himself in line to win the Yankees’ pennant-clinching game.
Burnett had nothing left, Phil Hughes faltered and the next thing the Yankees knew, the champagne had to be removed from their clubhouse. This American League Championship Series is still alive, the Los Angeles Angels prevailing by a 7-6 count in this thrilling Game 5, because the Yankees couldn’t hold up their offensive outburst.
“It feels like I let this squad down, no doubt,” Burnett said.
To the contrary, Burnett did his squad proud, hanging tough after falling into a 4-0 hole before he recorded even one out. It was Girardi who decided, despite having a full bullpen — everyone besides Chad Gaudin had two days’ rest, and everyone would get Friday off — that he needed more A.J.
“We talked about (lifting Burnett), but he was throwing the ball so well,” Girardi said. “He put up five shutout innings. He had only thrown (89) pitches. And we just liked what we saw from him, and we stuck with him.”
Neither Girardi nor Mike Scioscia likely earned themselves invitations from MENSA with their activity on Thursday night. In the bottom of the ninth, when the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs against Angels closer Brian Fuentes, Girardi pinch ran for both Alex Rodriguez (with Freddy Guzman) and Hideki Matsui (Brett Gardner). It would’ve looked great had Robinson Cano or Nick Swisher drilled a line drive into a gap, and far less great had the Yankees tied the score and kept going with a black hole in the middle of their lineup.
Scioscia, meanwhile, drew the ire of many in the yakosphere when he lifted starter John Lackey for Darren Oliver to go against Mark Teixeira with the bases loaded; Teixeira responded with a three-run double. And after likely Game 7 starter Jered Weaver pitched a brilliant eighth, Scioscia reverted to formula and brought in Fuentes, who nearly imploded as he intentionally walked A-Rod, walked Matsui and hit Cano.
Nevertheless, Scioscia today is the manager who kept his team alive. Girardi is the manager who kept his team from enjoying a peaceful weekend.
With Games 6 and 7 set for Saturday and Sunday night in the Bronx, weather permitting, you’d have to bet heavily, still, on the Yankees prevailing. And then proceeding to beat the Phillies in the World Series. Their talent edge over both clubs is considerable.
Yet it doesn’t speak well of Girardi that his first postseason as a skipper, despite a 6-2 record so far, seems to be costing him popularity points among the Yankees’ fan base.
Burnett, in characteristic form, picked the first for his One Bad Inning, and after that, he kept the Angels quiet. By doing so, he ensured that the Yankees remained a rally away from getting back into it and, even in a loss, that Girardi wouldn’t have to burn through a barrel full of relievers.
And after his long break in the seventh, he allowed a leadoff single to the en fuego Jeff Mathis and walked Erick Aybar. With that, he was done, and the two runners came around to score, adding to Burnett’s ledger.
Burnett, not surprisingly, dismissed the notion that he should’ve exited. “I’m used to long innings,” he said. “I felt just as good as any other inning.”
He didn’t look it, however. And now, the Yankees don’t look as good as they did after Game 4.