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 The Yankees scored five runs in the top of the first and were
never threatened the rest of the way, cruising to a 9-2 victory and
taking two of three in the series.
Many in the sellout crowd came to see Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter
play his final game in Anaheim, and they didn't leave disappointed.
Jeter, who is retiring at the end of the season, had two hits,
including a home run in the second inning off Angels left-hander
Hector Santiago that gave New York a 6-0 lead.
For Jeter, the series was somewhat of a fresh start to what was a
slow start to the season. Before the series in Anaheim, he was in a
3-for-28 slump, his average was down to .240, and some were
wondering why manager Joe Girardi wouldn't drop Jeter from the No. 2
spot in the batting order.
However, Jeter, who always enjoyed hitting in Anaheim (.339 lifetime
average), went 5-for-11 in the series and cracked his first homer of
the year.
"Absolutely, absolutely," Girardi said when asked if Jeter was
driven to prove skeptics wrong. "He's always been an extremely
driven person, and when he's struggling, he's going to do everything
in his power to get going again. And that's what he did. He got
going again."
Jeter also was in the middle of what was a messy first inning for
the Angels.
After a walk by Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeter hit a
routine flyball to right-center. Both center fielder Mike Trout and
right fielder Collin Cowgill converged, then collided, the ball
falling to the ground for an error (charged to Cowgill).
Angels manager Mike Scioscia called it a miscommunication.
First baseman Mark Teixeira had the big hit of the inning with a
two-run double. By the time the rally was over, the Yankees had five
runs on three hits and two walks, and they got help from the Angels
defense, which committed two errors.
The second error came on a bad throw by Santiago, who rolled over
his left ankle on the play but remained in the game.
The big inning provided more than enough offensive support for
Yankees left-hander Vidal Nuno (1-0). He gave up one run on four
hits and one walk in 6 1/3 innings to earn the second win of his
career.
Between a two-out walk in the second inning to third baseman John
McDonald and a leadoff double in the seventh inning by designated
hitter C.J. Cron, Nuno retired 13 hitters in a row.
"I was very impressed," Girardi said. "He mixed his pitches
extremely well. I think he got some outs on fastballs, cutters,
curveballs, changeups, probably everything. It's just keeping them
off balance, that's the important thing."
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For Santiago (0-6), the first inning was too much to overcome. He
lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (two earned) on five
hits and three walks. "It was a tough start for him," Scioscia said. "It's tough to
give a team five outs like we did in the first inning, and those
guys took advantage of it. Even if you take away those miscues, he
was not effective tonight."
Jeter's home run of the season in the second inning increased the
Yankees' lead to 6-0 before the Angels pushed across a run in the
bottom of the second.
The Yankees added three runs in the eighth inning, getting a two-run
single from catcher John Ryan Murphy and a sacrifice fly by right
fielder Carlos Beltran.
Ellsbury, Jeter, Murphy, third baseman Yangervis Solarte and left
fielder Brett Gardner each collected two hits for New York.
Cron went 3-for-4 for the Angels.
"We got beat tonight, but our guys battled," Scioscia said. "We've
been playing well, even in some of the games we've lost. But tonight
wasn't one of them."
NOTES: The Angels honored Yankees SS Derek Jeter before the game,
Jeter's final contest in Anaheim. The 39-year-old veteran will
retire at the end of the season. Angels CF Mike Trout, 1B Albert
Pujols, RHP Jered Weaver and 2B Howie Kendrick presented Jeter with
a standup paddleboard with the Yankees' logo on it. ... Yankees DH
Alfonso Soriano needs two hits to become the seventh player in major
league history with at least 1,000 career hits in both leagues. He
went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Wednesday, and he was the only
New York starter to finish with no runs and no RBIs.
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