Angels rally falls short in 10-6 loss to Yankees
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The Angels erased five runs of a six-run deficit but failed to score the tying run after loading the bases with two outs in each of the sixth and seventh innings, and the New York Yankees pulled away for a 10-6 victory Wednesday in Yankee Stadium.
Joel Pineiro had won seven straight decisions entering the game, but the Angels right-hander was knocked around for six runs and 11 hits in six innings and suffered his first loss since June 1, dropping to 10-7.
The Yankees built most of their 6-0 lead with a four-run third inning that featured Derek Jeter’s leadoff single, Nick Swisher’s double, Mark Teixeira’s two-run single and Robinson Cano’s two-run home run to right-center.
Jeter (single) and Teixeira (double) also had hits in the first, Jeter scoring on Alex Rodriguez’s groundout, and singles by Jeter and Swisher led to a run on Teixeira’s fourth-inning double that gave New York a six-run cushion.
But while the top of the order pushed the Yankees to their lead -- Jeter, Swisher and Teixeira had eight hits in nine at-bats, scored five runs and drove in three runs in the first four innings -- the bottom of the Angels order sparked the comeback.
No. 7 hitter Juan Rivera doubled to open the fifth, No. 8 hitter Kevin Frandsen hit an RBI single to left, and No. 9 hitter Bobby Wilson drove a two-run homer to left to make it 6-3.
Torii Hunter doubled to left, and Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer to right, his second homer in as many games, to open the sixth to make it 6-5 and knock Yankees starter Javier Vazquez out of the game.
The Angels went on to load the bases off reliever David Robertson on Rivera’s one-out walk, Frandsen’s bunt single and Erick Aybar’s two-out single, but Howie Kendrick lined out to right field on a full-count pitch to end the inning.
The Angels loaded the bases with two outs again in the seventh when Hunter singled to right-center, Mike Napoli walked and Rivera reached on an infield single, but Frandsen, facing reliever Joba Chamberlain, grounded out to third.
The Yankees added four insurances runs in the seventh when Juan Miranda hit a solo homer to right-center and Colin Curtis hit a three-run shot to right-center off Angels reliever Scot Shields, who hadn’t allowed a homer since May 11.
Curtis entered the game for Brett Gardner, who was ejected for arguing a called strike, and came through with his first career home run to put the Yankees ahead, 10-5. The Angels scored in the top of the eighth on Bobby Abreu’s RBI groundout.
-- Mike DiGiovanna in New York