Joel Pineiro Silences New York Yankees Bats in LA Angels Victory

Los Angeles pitcher Joel Pineiro (1-1) limited New York to one run over seven innings, as the Angels earned a 5-3 victory Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Pineiro only allowed five hits while striking out seven and walking none. Javier Vazquez (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing four runs in 5.1 innings.

Pineiro held New York to only one hit over the first four innings. The Yankees pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, RBI triple by Nick Swisher. It was the only run Pineiro allowed in his seven innings of work.

Los Angeles opened the scoring in the top of the third off Vazquez. Brandon Wood led off with a single, stole second, and scored on Erick Aybar’s RBI single. Bobby Abreu followed with an RBI double to right center to score Aybar and give the Angels a 2-0 lead.
 
After Swisher’s RBI triple in the fifth, Los Angeles immediately answered with two runs in the top of the sixth on a Kendry Morales RBI double and a run-scoring single by Maicer Izturis. Torii Hunter added an RBI single in the seventh to increase the Angels lead to 5-1. Aybar, Abreu, and Hunter, the first three hitters in the Angels lineup, each had two hits and an RBI.

The Yankees mounted a rally in the bottom of the eighth. With runners at first and second and no outs, Nick Johnson delivered an RBI single to left center. Mark Teixeira added an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 5-3. After Alex Rodriguez walked, Angels' reliever Kevin Jepsen retired the next two hitters to end the inning. Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the season.

The two teams will finish their series Thursday night at Yankee Stadium. Los Angeles will start Scott Kazmir (0-0, 0.00), while New York will counter with Phil Hughes (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.