Angels rally, then crush Yankees

Kendy Morales (left) and Mike Napoli had big days for the Anaheim Angels, which trounced the New York Yankees.(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Under manager Mike Scioscia, the Anaheim Angels have been built around the small-ball philosophy. They have home-run hitters, but they have taken pride in excelling at the little things: stealing bases, taking the extra base, bunting, and moving runners over.

So, after the New York Yankees scored the first four runs of the game via a two-run home-run by Alex Rodriguez, a solo-shot by newly acquired Eric Hinske, and a rbi-single by Robinson Cano, the Angels ran their offense to perfection.

Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte cracked in the fourth inning, surrendering an rbi-single to former teammate Bobby Abreu, before completely imploding in the ensuing frame.

Second baseman Howie Kendrick, one of the few Angels to struggle offensively this season, led off the fifth inning with a single.

Pettitte, well past his prime, has lost a considerable amount of velocity on his fastball. He was never a very hard thrower, but to such skilled hitters in a stacked lineup, the difference between a 93-miles per hour fastball and a 89-miles per hour fastball can make all the difference.

Brandon Wood, Anaheim’s highly touted 24-year old third baseman, a player they have repeatedly refused to include in trades, took advantage of Pettitte’s lifeless and mislocated 89-miles per hour heat, clocking the final of four straight fastballs into the right-field bleachers to cut the deficit to just one.

Pettitte wasn’t right, and the Angels feasted on his mediocrity. What will dictate whether a pitcher can succeed or not is their ability or inability to keep the ball down. Often, pitchers rely heavily on the fastball, which gets them into trouble because a fastball has the tendency to rise in the strikezone, and is nearly impossible to consistently keep down. Pitchers like the San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum and Toronto Blue Jays Roy Halladay are workhorses and arguably the best pitchers in their respective leagues because they consistently work low, and rarely giving hitters anything comfortable to hit.

Pettitte continued to give Anaheim plenty to hit. Robb Quinlan followed up Wood’s blast with a single. After Chone Figgins’ speed broke up a potential double-play, Eric Aybar and Abreu hit consecutive singles to chase Pettitte. All in all, Pettitte allowed seven hits, five coming in a fifth inning in which he recorded only one out.

The Angels weren’t happy to see Pettitte leave, but they fared similarly against reliever David Robertson. Catcher Mike Napoli greeted him by nailing his first pitch curveball into the gap in right-center, plating both Aybar and Abreu to grab the lead for Anaheim.

A two-run advantage grew to four as Kendrick completed the seven-run fifth with a two-out, two-run single. He promptly was thrown out at second trying to steal, but the damage was done.

Aybar added to the lead in the sixth, driving a two-out rbi-triple to deep center-field. The Angels, after being dealt a four-run deficit, were in control.

But no lead is safe when playing the Yankees. Hinske, turning out to be a great pickup, belted his second home-run of the game, a two-run shot in the seventh inning. Rodriguez and Matsui continued the home-run barrage, hitting back-to-back shots in the eighth, but in the bottom of both innings, New York squandered any momentum they had gained.

Napoli answered Hinske’s shot with one of his own to begin the bottom of the seventh. The floodgates opened in the eighth, as Yankees reliever Phil Coke got sloppy. He allowed a single to Reggie Wilits to start the frame, then after a previous pickoff attempt nearly evaded first baseman Mark Teixeira, he missed Teixeira’s glove altogether, moving Wilits to second.

Then, he uncorked a wild curveball to strike-out Chone Figgins, but it snuck past catcher Jorge Posada, awarding Figgins first base. One out later, Anaheim capitalized on Abreu’s sacrifice fly, Kendry Morales’ rbi-double, and Gary Matthews Jr.’s rbi-single.

The scoring was complete. Fourteen runs on sixteen hits for the American League West-leading Angels, frustrating another opponent with their scrappiness and power.