04/30: Pena and Melky Deliver in the Eighth as Yankees Beat Angels, 7-4
Posted by: Patrick
Led by the firm of Swisher, Pena and Burnett, the Yankees defeated the Angels on Thursday night, 7-4.
The Angels wasted no time grabbing a lead, scoring a run in the top of the first. But, the Yankees answered right back, thanks to a Hideki Matsui RBI single that scored Mark Teixeira. Don't look now, but Godzilla's got his average up to .292 after a slow start.
But, the Angels continued to chip away at Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, scoring 2 more runs in the third to make it 3-1 through two. The Yankees would again answer back in the form of a Johnny Damon solo home run in the third and a Derek Jeter RBI single in the fourth. On Jeter's hit, former Yankee Bobby Abreu made an error that allowed Ramiro Pena to score. 4-3, Yankees, after four.
Burnett, meanwhile, settled down, holding the Angels offense scoreless in the third and fourth. He allowed them to tie the game in the fifth, but then pitched another two scoreless innings. In the end, Burnett struck out five through seven, allowing those four runs on eight hits.
He left the game tied when Phil Coke came out to start the eighth. Coke was impressive, setting down the Angels in order.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees took back the lead when Melky Cabrera singled, scoring Robinson Cano. Ramiro Pena followed that up with a double, giving the Yankees a pair of much needed insurance runs, as Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher scored.
After back to back rough outings, Mo was back on his game, collecting his fifth save of the season. The first hitter he faced, Torii Hunter, singled and then reached second on fielder's indifference. The next three batters were retired, however, including two strike outs.
And so, the Yankees end the month of April at 12-10, 2 games back of the division leading Red Sox.
Tomorrow, at 7:05 PM ET, Andy Pettitte (2-1, 2.96) will face Jered Weaver (2-1, 2.45) in game two of the series.
Recap records: Patrick: 7–2, Seamus: 4–6, Andrew: 1–2.
The Angels wasted no time grabbing a lead, scoring a run in the top of the first. But, the Yankees answered right back, thanks to a Hideki Matsui RBI single that scored Mark Teixeira. Don't look now, but Godzilla's got his average up to .292 after a slow start.
But, the Angels continued to chip away at Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, scoring 2 more runs in the third to make it 3-1 through two. The Yankees would again answer back in the form of a Johnny Damon solo home run in the third and a Derek Jeter RBI single in the fourth. On Jeter's hit, former Yankee Bobby Abreu made an error that allowed Ramiro Pena to score. 4-3, Yankees, after four.
Burnett, meanwhile, settled down, holding the Angels offense scoreless in the third and fourth. He allowed them to tie the game in the fifth, but then pitched another two scoreless innings. In the end, Burnett struck out five through seven, allowing those four runs on eight hits.
He left the game tied when Phil Coke came out to start the eighth. Coke was impressive, setting down the Angels in order.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees took back the lead when Melky Cabrera singled, scoring Robinson Cano. Ramiro Pena followed that up with a double, giving the Yankees a pair of much needed insurance runs, as Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher scored.
After back to back rough outings, Mo was back on his game, collecting his fifth save of the season. The first hitter he faced, Torii Hunter, singled and then reached second on fielder's indifference. The next three batters were retired, however, including two strike outs.
And so, the Yankees end the month of April at 12-10, 2 games back of the division leading Red Sox.
Tomorrow, at 7:05 PM ET, Andy Pettitte (2-1, 2.96) will face Jered Weaver (2-1, 2.45) in game two of the series.
Recap records: Patrick: 7–2, Seamus: 4–6, Andrew: 1–2.
