New York ? CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees stopped the Los Angeles Angels cold in the AL championship series opener.

On a blustery night more suited to bobsleds than baseballs, Sabathia pitched eight innings of four-hit ball to win his second straight postseason start, and New York took advantage of a rare sloppy game by Los Angeles in a 4-1 victory Friday.

“It was about as cold as it gets,” Sabathia said. “It was pretty nasty out there today.”

The Angels looked like chilled Californians withering in the unseasonable wintry weather, making three errors that led to two unearned runs and allowing an infield popup to drop untouched for an RBI single. Even Torii Hunter, an eight-time Gold Glove center fielder, allowed a single to roll past him.

“We took advantage of a couple miscues,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. It was 45 degrees at gametime, and a 17 mph wind made it feel worse. Because of the cold conditions, the traditional foul line introductions before the first game were scrapped.

Back in the ALCS for the first time in five years, New York built a 2-0 lead in the first by taking advantage of a throwing error by left fielder Juan Rivera and a popup by Hideki Matsui that fell between third baseman Chone Figgins and shortstop Erick Aybar, who each thought the other would snag it.