After a disappointing loss on Monday, the Angels took on the Bronx Bombers looking to tie up the series and win a game in New York. On the mound for the Halos was David Huff, the replacement starting pitcher for Nick Tropeano, who was placed on the 15-day DL on June 4th. The Yankees gave the start to Michael Pineda, who looked to turn things around after having a rough opening to the season.
In the 1st inning, the Yankees’ batters were on fire and ripped Huff apart. Carlos Beltran, who hit a 3-run home run the previous game, crushed a home run to left field, giving the Yanks a 2-0 early lead. Yunel Escobar made a bonehead play at 3rd base when he could’ve ended the inning, and it would come back to bite the Halos. On the next play, Austin Romine hit a RBI single to left field, making it 3-0.
Huff could not get it together in the 2nd inning either. Aaron Hicks hit a line drive double to start the inning for the Yankees, and the next batter, Brett Gardner, reached base on a throwing error by Huff. Rob Refsnyder brought home Hicks with a sacrifice fly, and the Yankees made it a 4-0 game. Unluckily for the Halos, it was not any easier for Huff in the 3rd inning. On a 3-1 count, Starlin Castro hit a pop fly and it landed on the foul pole in right field, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead and making Huff’s day even worse.
The Halos heated up a little bit when the Rally Cat came out in the 5th inning. Gregorio Petit singled to left field and brought in Rafael Ortega to make it 5-1 Yankees. Just when the Yanks thought they could get out of the inning, Kole Calhoun brought the boom and hit a 2-run home run to right field, making it a 5-3 ballgame. The rally came to an end when Mike Trout grounded out, and the Angels would not be able to get anything done for the rest of the game.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, Greg Mahle walked Brett Gardner to start the inning, and then Mahle was quickly replaced by Cam Bedrosian. Bedrosian struck out pinch-hitter Jacoby Ellsbury as well as Carlos Beltran, but Gardner stole second base and eventually scored on a RBI single by Alex Rodriguez, giving the Yankees a 6-3 lead. Dellin Betances shut down the Halos in the 8th inning with two strikeouts, and Andrew Miller got the save in the 9th inning, ending the game at 6-3 Yankees.
Pineda received the win, making his record (3-6), and Huff was the losing pitcher, giving him the record (0-1) for the season. With today’s loss, the Angels need to win the next two games to tie the series against the Yankees. Tomorrow’s game starts at 4:05 P.M. with Jered Weaver (5-4) on the mound for the Halos. Hopefully the team can turn it around tomorrow.