• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Pettitte goes seven strong to help Yankees avoid sweep

Aug 23, 2007 - 6:05 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees finally found a way to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and gained some ground in the playoff race in the process.

The Yankees broke open a tight contest with a late surge to earn an 8-2 victory Wednesday and avoid a sweep at the hands of the Angels.

The triumph also was manager Joe Torre's 1,150th with the Yankees, pushing him past Hall of Famer Casey Stengel for second place on the franchise list. Joe McCarthy holds the top spot with 2,348 wins.

"It's a big accomplishment for me to be in the same class with Stengel," Torre said. "Very proud to wear this uniform and pass one of the legends like Casey."

Bobby Abreu homered and Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera each drove in a pair of runs for New York (71-56), which pulled back within five games of the Boston Red Sox (76-51) in the American League East Division and 1 1/2 of the Seattle Mariners (71-53) in the wild card race.

"Every game is big, and that's the approach we are taking," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. "We can't worry about what the other teams are doing, we are in a must-win situation every game."

Andy Pettitte (11-7) got the start for the Yankees and picked up the win, allowing one run and five hits in seven frames while walking two and striking out six. Pettitte improved to 7-1 in his last nine starts, with his lone loss coming against Baltimore on July 27.

"I just went out there and tried to keep my good mechanics together, give us a good outing and keep us in the game," Pettitte said. "This was almost like a must-win game for us."

Angels ace John Lackey (15-8) matched his counterpart through six innings before running into trouble in the seventh. The All-Star righthander squandered a 1-1 tie by walking Posada and allowing a single to Robinson Cano.

"Just got myself into some trouble late in the game and couldn't come up with that big pitch I needed to get them out," Lackey said.

After Lackey got Wilson Betemit to fly out, Cabrera snapped the tie with an RBI single to center. Jeter made it 3-1 with a run-scoring base hit to right.

"Even though we lost the first two games of the series, we hit the ball well," Jeter said. "Good sign to see us keep putting runs on the board, especially heading into Detroit."

Lackey was pulled in the eighth after allowing Abreu's solo blast that led off the inning. He was charged with four runs and 10 hits while walking three and striking out four in seven-plus frames.

Lackey fell to just 4-7 lifetime against the Yankees.

"They always have a dangerous lineup that can put runs on the board fast," Lackey said.

It was the second disappointment in a row for Lackey, who was torched for six earned runs and 11 hits in just four innings against Boston in his previous start.

"He pitched a lot better this time out than his outing in Boston," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's a competitor and will be ready for his next start."

Struggling setup man Scot Shields relieved Lackey and allowed three runs, including a two-run double by Posada. It is the third time this month the righthander has allowed multiple runs in an outing, raising his ERA from 2.24 on August 1 to its current 3.65 mark.

"Jorge has been swinging a good bat all year for us," Jeter said. "He just has been so consistent and tends to keep coming up with big hits."

The Angels got to Pettitte for their first run in the sixth inning, when Orlando Cabrera connected for his eighth home run of year, knotting the game at 1-1.

Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlain struck out the side around a single in the eighth inning. The 21-year-old righthander touched 99 miles per hour on the radar gun and has now struck out 14 in eight major league innings while allowing just three hits and no runs.

"I just wanted to go out and challenge their hitters with my best stuff," Chamberlain said. "It was good to get some work after Andy pitched so great."

Mariano Rivera allowed a run in the ninth on three consecutive singles.