GAME THREAD: AL: LA ANGELS (52-33) at NY YANKEES (40-42)

AL: LA ANGELS at NY YANKEES

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LA ANGELS (9) AT NY YANKEES (14) - EVENT LOG
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La Angels Starting Lineups -- R Willits RF, C Figgins 3B, O Cabrera SS,
V Guerrero DH, R Quinlan 1B, G Matthews Jr CF, G Anderson LF, M Izturis 2B,
J Molina C, B Colon RHP.

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- J Damon LF, M Cabrera CF, D Jeter SS,
A Rodriguez 3B, H Matsui DH, J Posada C, B Abreu RF, R Cano 2B, M Cairo 1B,
A Pettitte LHP.

Umpires -- Dana Demuth (HP), Derryl Cousins (1B), Chris Guccione (2B), Doug Eddings (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Cloudy, wind right to left at 11 mph.


LA ANGELS 1ST: R Willits struck out swinging. C Figgins flied out to
right. O Cabrera struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 1ST: J Damon flied out to center. M Cabrera grounded out to
third. D Jeter struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

LA ANGELS 2ND: V Guerrero grounded out to third. R Quinlan singled to
right. G Matthews Jr grounded into double play, third to second to first,
R Quinlan out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: A Rodriguez doubled to deep right. H Matsui walked.
J Posada singled to right, A Rodriguez scored, H Matsui to third. B Abreu hit
sacrifice fly to left, H Matsui scored. R Cano singled to left center,
J Posada to second. M Cairo struck out looking. J Damon flied out to left.
(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, NY YANKEES 2.

LA ANGELS 3RD: G Anderson singled to left. M Izturis singled to left,
G Anderson to second. J Molina hit a ground rule double to deep left, G Anderson
scored, M Izturis to third. R Willits grounded out to third. C Figgins struck
out swinging. O Cabrera doubled to left, M Izturis and J Molina scored.
V Guerrero struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 3,
NY YANKEES 2.

NY YANKEES 3RD: M Cabrera singled to left. D Jeter reached on infield
single to second, M Cabrera to second. A Rodriguez singled to right, M Cabrera
to third, D Jeter to second. H Matsui walked, M Cabrera scored, D Jeter to
third, A Rodriguez to second. J Posada doubled to deep right, D Jeter and
A Rodriguez scored, H Matsui to third. D Oliver relieved B Colon. B Abreu struck
out swinging. R Cano reached on infield single to shortstop, H Matsui scored,
J Posada to third. M Cairo sacrificed to pitcher, J Posada scored, R Cano to
second. J Damon singled to left, R Cano scored, J Damon thrown out at second
attempting to advance on play. (6 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 3, NY YANKEES 8.

LA ANGELS 4TH: R Quinlan flied out to right. G Matthews Jr grounded out to
second. G Anderson grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 3, NY YANKEES 8.

NY YANKEES 4TH: M Cabrera flied out to right. D Jeter grounded out to
shortstop. A Rodriguez fouled out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 3, NY YANKEES 8.

LA ANGELS 5TH: M Izturis walked. J Molina grounded out to shortstop,
M Izturis to second. R Willits struck out swinging. C Figgins singled to
center, M Izturis scored, C Figgins to second advancing on throw. O Cabrera
singled to left, C Figgins scored. V Guerrero lined out to second. (2 Runs,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5, NY YANKEES 8.

NY YANKEES 5TH: H Matsui grounded out to first. J Posada singled to
center. B Abreu flied out to left. R Cano singled to center, J Posada to
third. C Bootcheck relieved D Oliver. M Cairo singled to deep center, J Posada
scored, R Cano thrown out at third. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 5,
NY YANKEES 9.

LA ANGELS 6TH: R Quinlan singled to center. G Matthews Jr doubled to deep
center, R Quinlan scored. G Anderson reached on infield single to first,
G Matthews Jr scored on throwing error by first baseman M Cairo. E Ramirez
relieved A Pettitte. M Izturis walked, G Anderson to second. J Molina
sacrificed to first, G Anderson to third, M Izturis to second. R Willits
struck out swinging. C Figgins singled to center, G Anderson and M Izturis
scored. C Figgins stole second, C Figgins out at third attempting to advance
on play. (4 Runs, 4 Hits, 1 Error) LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 9.

NY YANKEES 6TH: J Damon walked. J Damon stole second. M Cabrera singled to
center, J Damon scored on error by center fielder G Matthews Jr. D Jeter struck
out swinging. A Rodriguez homered to left, M Cabrera scored. H Matsui singled
to right. D Moseley relieved C Bootcheck. J Posada grounded into double play,
second to shortstop to first, H Matsui out at second.(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)
LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 12.

LA ANGELS 7TH: O Cabrera doubled to deep left center. V Guerrero grounded
out to pitcher. R Quinlan hit by pitch. S Proctor relieved E Ramirez.
O Cabrera to third, R Quinlan to second on wild pitch by S Proctor. G Matthews Jr
struck out swinging. G Anderson struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 12.

NY YANKEES 7TH: B Abreu singled to left center. R Cano lined out to left.
M Cairo grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, B Abreu out at
second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 12.

LA ANGELS 8TH: M Izturis lined out to left. C Kotchman hit for J Molina.
C Kotchman struck out swinging. R Willits grounded out to third. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 12.

NY YANKEES 8TH: J Mathis catching. J Damon singled to right. J Damon stole
second. M Cabrera singled to center, J Damon scored. M Cabrera stole second.
D Jeter singled to right, M Cabrera scored. A Rodriguez walked, D Jeter to
second. H Matsui grounded into fielder's choice to second, A Rodriguez out at
second, D Jeter to third. C Resop relieved D Moseley. J Posada grounded into
double play, second to shortstop to first, H Matsui out at second.(2 Runs,
3 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 14.

LA ANGELS 9TH: R Villone relieved S Proctor. C Figgins struck out swinging.
O Cabrera flied out to center. V Guerrero popped out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 9, NY YANKEES 14.</div>

 

Posada, Rodriguez help Yankees blast past Angels

<h3>NY YANKEES 14, LA ANGELS 9</h3>BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez's hamstring isfeeling better. It appears his bat also is doing just fine.

Rodriguez's return to the lineup was a successful one as hecollected three hits, including a two-run homer in the bottom ofthe sixth inning as the New York Yankees recorded a wild 14-9victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday night.

Rodriguez was back in his customary cleanup spot in the battingorder after missing his first game of the season Thursday with astrained left hamstring. He suffered the injury Monday, whenhe collided with Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau and thentried to play through it but had a pair of 0-for-4 outings atthe plate.

"It took that ball about three seconds to get out of theballpark and defensively he was terrific," said Yankees managerJoe Torre of Rodriguez's homer. "It was great, he probablyneeded that day yesterday."

Rodriguez's big return gave the Yankees their fourth win in fivegames. In their last four victories, New York has scored 34runs.

"This has been a season of waves and we just want to ride thisone as long as we can," Rodriguez said.

On Thursday, Rodriguez underwent an MRI, which showed no damage.After being examined, he watched from the dugout as theYankees collected 13 hits in a 7-6 victory that was punctuatedby Hideki Matsui's two-run blast in the eighth.

Rodriguez returned Friday and quickly snapped a season-worst0-for-19 skid with a leadoff double in the second as the Yankeesopened a 2-0 lead. After the Angels moved ahead by a run, theAll-Star singled and scored on Jorge Posada's two-run double asNew York took an 8-3 advantage.

On many nights, that would have been enough for Andy Pettitte,who was coming off an awful start against Oakland on Sunday. Butthe Angels knocked out the lefthander in the sixth, when ChoneFiggins capped a four-run rally with a two-run single off rookieEdwar Ramirez, forging a 9-9 tie.

That set the stage for Rodriguez, who had not homered since June23 at San Francisco. With a run already in, Rodriguez launchedan 0-1 pitch from Chris Bootcheck (2-2) into the left fieldseats in the sixth, giving the Yankees a 12-9 bulge.

Rodriguez's latest home run gave the Yankees a rare win over theAngels, who swept a three-game series at Yankee Stadium in lateMay.

"The Angels do a lot of things well," Rodriguez said. "So wenever trailed in the game and I think that was a big key againstthem."

"I think (A-Rod) needs a couple of days off. It didn't look hewas moving too well," Angels manager Mike Scioscia joked."Definitely tomorrow and Sunday I would recommend it and getstraight to that All-Star game. He had a heckuva gamedefensively and he made some nice plays in the field andobviously his bat."

It was Rodriguez's major league-leading 29th home run and 493rdcareer, tying him with Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig and Fred McGrifffor 22nd place on the all-time list.

While Rodriguez delivered the biggest hit of the night, theYankees received contributions from everyone in their lineup asthey finished with a season-high 19 hits. Melky Cabrera, Posadaand Robinson Cano collected three hits apiece, going a combined9-for-14.

After Pettitte allowed eight runs and and 10 hits in five-plusinnings, Ramirez (1-0) worked 1 1/3 frames for his first careervictory. Unlike his debut on Tuesday, when he struck out theside in his only inning of work, it was not an easy outing forthe 26-year-old righthander, who opened the seventh by allowinga double by Orlando Cabrera and plunking Robb Quinlan.

"He got tested under fire," said Torre of Ramirez. "That canonly be good for him down the road."

Scott Proctor replaced Ramirez and threw a wild pitch thatadvanced the runners. But he escaped unscathed by striking outGary Matthews Jr. on a check swing and fanning Garret Andersonon a 71 mile-per-hour curveball.

"Every out was big and it was a nice win for the team," Proctorsaid.

New York added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth as Cabreraand Derek Jeter produced RBI singles.

While Pettitte turned in another shaky outing, Angels starterBartolo Colon was worse. The portly righthander, who is winlessin his last eight starts, was roughed up for seven runs andseven hits in just two-plus innings.

"I actually thought I had good stuff," said Colon through aninterpreter. "I was surprised the results weren't there."