Yankees Win Wild Game in Finale Against Angels

The New York Yankees won a back-and-forth battle against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, defeating them 14-9 on Sunday afternoon.

Darrell Rasner pitched for the Yankees. He went four innings, allowed five earned runs on seven hits, walked three and struck out one.

John Lackey went for Anaheim. Lackey tossed six innings, allowed four earned runs on seven hits, walked four and struck out four.

The Angels jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Garrett Anderson singled to score Erick Aybar and Chone Figgins.

The Angels added another run in the top of the second as Aybar singled to score Reggie Willits. Yankees' first baseman Jason Giambi had a play, but seemed to get caught up and did not make it. Presumably, Giambi had something in his eye and was not able to make the play, as he was seen taking eye drops from assistant trainer Steve Donahue in the dugout. 

In the top of the fourth inning, Aybar doubled to score Figgins and Willits, giving the Angels a 5-0 edge.

A rather strange played occured in the bottom of the fourth. Xavier Nady hit a high fly ball to left field with the bases loaded and one out. Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu tagged at third base and second base, respectively. The throw came into third base, and Abreu was tagged out at third. Home plate umpire Ed Rapuano ruled that Jeter did not touch home plate before Abreu was tagged, therefore Jeter's run did not score and it was an inning-ending double play.

However, in the bottom of the fifth, the Yankees were finally able to break through with a solo home run by Ivan Rodriguez, his sixth of the year, and first round tripper wearing a Yankee uniform.

With the score at 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees mounted some offense. Nady crushed a two-run, ground rule double to score Jeter and Abreu, making the score 5-3.

Also in the sixth, Wilson Betemit hit into a fielder's choice, but Alex Rodriguez crossed the plate and cut the Angels' lead to 5-4.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Yankees rallied to take the lead, and put four runs on the board. Abreu singled to score Jeter and tie the game at five.

Later in the inning, Nady connected for a three-run homer, his 16th on the year, and gave the Yankees an 8-5 lead after seven innings of play.

In the top of the eighth, things took a turn. Edwar Ramirez came into the game, and quickly retired the first two batters. But Figgins, Willits, and Aybar all reached base, and Mark Teixeira came up and smacked a grand slam, his 21st homer of the year, and put the Angels back on top 9-8.

The Yankees would not be down for long, as the Bombers batted around in the bottom frame.

Ivan Rodriguez led off the inning with a single, and was later replaced with pinch-runner Justin Christian. Melky Cabrera put the ball in play and reached base with Christian running as Aybar could not come up with a play.

Christian attempted the steal third base, and on a throwing error by Angels' catcher Jeff Mathis, Christian scored to tie the game at nine as Cabrera advanced to third.

Cabrera later scored as Alex Rodriguez reached on a throwing error by Figgins, and New York led 10-9.

The Yankees later scored four more runs in the inning, getting RBI from Robinson Cano, who came off the bench to pinch hit for Betemit, Nady, and Christian.

Jose Veras was called on in relief in the top of the ninth. He shut down the last hitters for the Angels, giving the Yankees a weekend series split with the Angels.

Although  he did not pitch well and recorded his second blown save, Ramirez got the win and is now 3-0 on the year. 

Scot Shields took the loss, and is 4-3 on the year. He also recorded his second blown save. Jose Arredondo also recorded a blown save for Anaheim, his first of the year.

Nady was on fire today, as he went 4-5 with six RBI and a home run.

Dan Giese also kept the Yankees in the game, as he picked up Rasner in relief. Giese went three innings, gave up no runs on only one hit, walked two and struck out three.

The Angels had a hard time today on the field as they committed four errors.

The Yankees will now pack their bags for a long, ten-game road trip. They will head to Texas to open up a four game series against the Rangers.

Tomorrow night at 8:05 ET, Joba Chamberlain (4-3, 2.24 ERA) will square off against Texas hurler Vicente Padilla (12-5, 4.52 ERA).