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Xavier Nady rallies Yankees past sloppy Angels
2008-08-03
NEW YORK - Xavier Nady homered and had a career-high six RBIs, rallying the New York Yankees past the sloppy Los Angeles Angels 14-9 in a wild, back-and-forth game Sunday. Mark Teixeira hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning for his first home run with Los Angeles, but New York took advantage of uncharacteristically poor defense by the Angels to score six times in the bottom half and complete its largest comeback of the season. Ivan Rodriguez hit his first homer for the Yankees, starting their improbable rally from a five-run deficit against ace John Lackey. New York scored 10 unearned runs in its final two at-bats as the Angels matched a season high with four errors. It was a big win for the Yankees, who play 16 of their next 19 on the road. They gained a split of the four-game series, sending the Angels to their fourth loss in 18 games. Los Angeles completed its East Coast trip 7-3, losing for only the third time in its past 13 away from home. Lackey came within two outs of a no-hitter Tuesday night at Boston before Dustin Pedroia singled and Kevin Youkilis homered in the ninth. This time, the right-hander was given a 5-0 lead, but he couldn't put the Yankees away. Rodriguez, acquired Wednesday from Detroit, hit a solo shot in the fifth. Nady's two-run double in the sixth helped New York cut it to 5-4, and Lackey left after 102 pitches. The Yankees caught their first big break in the seventh when center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., filling in for perennial Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter, tried for a running catch on Derek Jeter's deep drive to left-center and dropped the ball for an error. Bobby Abreu followed with an RBI single for his third hit, tying it at 5. Three batters later, Nady, who finished with four hits, smacked a three-run shot off Jose Arredondo for his third home run with New York since being acquired July 26 from Pittsburgh. The Angels weren't done, however. After Edwar Ramirez (3-0) struck out his first two batters in the eighth, Los Angeles loaded the bases on two walks sandwiched around Chone Figgins' single. Figgins' fourth hit of the game was the first allowed by Ramirez in 38 opponent at-bats. Teixeira then pulled a 1-0 pitch over the short porch in right, giving the AL West leaders a 9-8 advantage with his fourth career slam. But Scot Shields (4-3) relieved and immediately ran into trouble in the bottom half. Rodriguez led off with a single and Melky Cabrera reached on an error by shortstop Erick Aybar. On the next pitch, pinch-runner Justin Christian and Cabrera executed a double steal as Johnny Damon pulled back after squaring to bunt. The play caught Los Angeles off guard. Figgins, retreating to third, couldn't handle Jeff Mathis' wide throw and the ball deflected off his glove into foul territory. Christian scored the tying run on Mathis' error, and Cabrera went to third. Later in the inning, Alex Rodriguez hit a bases-loaded grounder that could have been an inning-ending double play. But Figgins bobbled the ball as the go-ahead run scored, and Rodriguez reached safely on the third baseman's error. Robinson Cano, who had come off the bench for defense, hit a two-run single off Darren Oliver to make it 12-9. Nady and Christian added RBI singles before the Yankees were finally retired. New York improved to 50-1 when leading after seven innings, though this win was unconventional. The five-run deficit was the largest the Yankees have overcome this season. Aybar drove in three runs and Garret Anderson had a two-run single for Los Angeles, which chased Darrell Rasner after four innings. Dan Giese kept New York in the game with three scoreless innings. With Giese's strong outing and Ian Kennedy pitching well in the minors, Rasner's spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy. Nady could have had another RBI on a sacrifice fly if not for abysmal base running by Abreu in the fourth. Notes:@ Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero got the day off. "He's fine," manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think he could use a day to catch his breath." ... No. 9 batter Reggie Willits drew a career-high four walks for Los Angeles, his first free passes since June 18. ... Aybar was at SS again as Maicer Izturis nurses a sprained right thumb sustained Friday. Izturis will have an MRI and be examined by a hand specialist Monday after the team returns home to California. Scioscia said Izturis' thumb felt better Sunday. ... Hunter traveled home to Arkansas on Saturday to attend his grandmother's funeral. ... Cano didn't start for the second straight day because of a sore left hand.
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