Game two was especially sweet to the A’s and Angels.

Anaheim can hit with anyone in the league, we saw that all season long. They made it through their playoff baptism in Yankee Stadium in fine fashion.

Do they have enough pitching to stop the Yanks in the series? Probably not, but they do have enough hitting to upset the defending AL Champs, if they continue to swing the bat like they did the past two nights.

Neither Roger Clemens nor Andy Pettitte distinguished themselves during the first two games. Now the burden falls upon Mike Mussina and David Wells, to try to make sure the series doesn’t come back to NY for a fifth game.

Don’t count on it.

The A’s turned to lefthander Mark Mulder who completely dominated the Twins in game two. It is not only that the Twins have trouble with lefties, but the A’s have two of the best in baseball, in Mulder and Barry Zito.

Zito works game three in Minnesota on Friday against Rick Reed.

The Giants played their opener like they played their last 38 games, with timely hitting from players other than Barry Bonds and with decent pitching for nine innings.

The Braves have their back against the wall in game two Thursday night.

Click below for more.Mike Scoscia finally brought Troy Percival into the game in the 8th inning with an 8-5 lead. The fireballing righty froze Derek Jeter on strike three to end the 8th, and then worked his way out of trouble to end the game for his team.

Middle relief for the Angels continues to be an adventure and unless it tightens up considerably, it will be their undoing. Ramon Ortiz has thrown well against NY this year, but he surrenders homers in bunches and will need relief help Friday.

Ben Weber and Brenden Donnelly look shaky as does Scott Schoenweiss from the left side. Francisco Rodriguez is 20 and was lucky to get the win Wednesday after he gave up a two run homer to Alfonso Soriano, which put the Yankees briefly in the lead.

If the Angels hit like they did in NY, then they can take the lead in the series Friday. Even so, this matchup has game five in NY written all over it.

The A’s have played playoff baseball in the pit, Yankee Stadium, game five last year. The Metrodome may be worse with 55,000 towel waving fanatics in the closed building. Better teams than the A’s have wilted in the Dome during a playoff series.

A’s fans will only be able to breathe a sigh of relief when their team wins one game in Minnesota. For everyone’s health, the fans hope it is game three.

Barry Zito pitched a shut out there in September, this is different. Zito has pitched big playoff games in New York and Oakland, as crazy as Minnesota will be, Zito should be up to the task.

Rick Reed throws fastballs now instead of the steady diet of breaking balls he used to employ. The A’s can hit righties who throw fastballs, they have trouble with righties who throw junk. Reed may have to alter his comfort zone if he stands a chance of slowing the A’s bats in the game.

Defense will matter in this game. Dave Justice and Terrence Long will be tested frequently on the astroturf. Minnesota has the edge in defense.

The Diamondbacks will not go quietly and I expect Curt Schilling to carry the ball for Arizona Thursday. The Cards can hit and won’t be intimidated, but I think Schilling has more of a chance to shut the Cards down than Chuck Finley has of stopping Arizona cold.

Game two is a critical game for the losers of game one, Arizona fits that bill very well and will even the series.

The Giants will face the toughest Atlanta pitcher in Kevin Millwood (who steps in for Greg Maddux), not only is this a game two scenario for the Braves, but Millwood just may be the key to the series for Atlanta since he is the sharpest pitcher they have.

They say Greg Maddux has a blister brewing on his pitching hand, I have said many times that Maddux doesn’t appear to be healthy. I wonder if the Braves are concealing a more serious injury?

Kirk Reuter will not fool the Braves for very long. This one looks like a John Smoltz two inning save and an even series after game two.

The Giants can be counted on to outhit the Braves on a given day, but this game will be in the hands of Millwood who has had a breakthrough season.

A five game series changes by the day. Pitching usually dictates the winners. Unusual that other than Mulder and Matt Morris, all the other starters have been mediocre.

This will change, someone will take charge in game three and throw a gem, won’t they?

Baseball is an unpredictable game, but one thing hasn’t changed you still have to outscore the other guy, maybe the hitters will step up and determine who wins the first round.

Now, that would be a refreshing change.