-By Anthony Crupi

While baseball fans may have had to bail out of work a little early on Monday, as Game 3 of the American League Championship Series began at 4:00 p.m. EDT., the afternoon start didn’t have a significant impact on Fox’ ratings.

The third game in the best-of-seven Yankees-Angels tilt drew 7.3 million viewers, down 18 percent from the Phillies-Dodgers NLCS Game 3 a year ago. (That game was played on a Sunday night.)

Compared to Game 3 of the year-ago ALCS, a Red Sox-Rays battle that also was telecast on a Monday afternoon, Fox’ delivery was up 61 percent versus TBS’ 5 million viewers, per Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings data.

Monday’s 11-inning game ranks as the most-viewed weekday afternoon League Championship Series broadcast since the Cardinals and Astros met in Game 6 of the 2004 NLCS, a 10-7 home run derby that delivered 10.3 million viewers on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Through the first three games, the Yankees-Angels series is averaging 8.37 million total viewers, up 16 percent versus the first three games of the 2008 NLCS.

Over on TBS, Game 4 of the Dodgers-Phillies NLCS drew 5.6 million viewers Monday night. Through the first four games, TBS is averaging 5.5 million viewers, down 5 percent from Games 1-4 of last season’s ALCS.