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Angels score 7 in fifth, rally again against Yanks

Jul 12, 2009 - 3:49 AM ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP) -- All that power in the Yankees' lineup couldn't overcome the Los Angeles Angels' pesky, grind-it-out offense in another comeback by the team that does them better than anyone else.

Mike Napoli hit a go-ahead two-run double off reliever David Robertson during a seven-run fifth inning and added a solo homer in the seventh, leading the Angels to a 14-8 victory on Saturday after the Yankees tied a season high with five home runs, including two from Alex Rodriguez.

The Angels have 24 runs in their first two games since outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter went on the disabled list. Left fielder Juan Rivera also was unavailable after leaving Friday night's series opener because of tightness in his left quad and right hamstring.

"It's real positive because it shows everybody in the clubhouse that we can still put together runs without our three big boys in there," leadoff man Chone Figgins said. "It all goes back having good at-bats and putting runners on base. The more we get that train going, the better our offense works."

The Angels lead the majors with 26 comeback wins, one more than the Yankees. Brandon Wood, a perennial prospect recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, hit a two-run homer during the fifth-inning rally and Howie Kendrick capped it with a two-run single. Former Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu had three RBIs.

"The third, fourth and fifth innings is where we do our damage - the second and third time through the lineup, when these guys can get a feel for the starting pitcher," starter Jered Weaver said. "People know they need to step up with our three leading hitters out, and they definitely have."

For the seventh time in the Angels' last eight games, they fell behind by at least four runs. And for the fourth time, they won - including Friday night's 10-6 victory, when they overcame a 5-1 deficit against Joba Chamberlain. It's the first time they have won four games in this fashion on one homestand in the franchise's 49-year history.

"There's not many teams in the big leagues that can run first-to-third with us and continue to put that pressure on, so it's going to be tough on a team defensively," Figgins said. "So when we put runners on base and go first-to-third like we did, it sets up a lot of our offense and puts guys in better situations to hit."

Rodriguez increased his career total to 570 and putting him 10th on the career list ahead of former Texas Rangers teammate Rafael Palmeiro.

Robinson Cano extended the Yankees' margin to 4-0 in the fourth with a two-out RBI single. But the stubborn Angels pulled ahead 8-4 in the fifth while knocking out Andy Pettitte (8-5).

"They don't strike out a whole lot, they put the ball in play and they go first to third on everything," Pettitte said. "They play the game hard and they play it right."

Weaver (10-3) struck out nine over six innings, allowing four runs - three earned - and four hits, including Rodriguez's two-run homer in the first and Eric Hinske's solo shot in the second.

Hinske, starting for the second time in 11 games since the Yankees acquired him from Pittsburgh on June 30, added a two-run shot in the seventh off Darren Oliver. Hideki Matsui also homered, but the Yankees lost for the 16th time in their last 21 games at Angel Stadium after entering this series in a 13-2 roll.

Hinske came up in the eighth against Kevin Jepsen, after Jason Bulger surrendered back-to-back homers by Rodriguez and Matsui that cut the Angels' lead to 10-8. But he lined out to second with the potential tying run at the plate.

The Angels tacked on four more in the bottom half, including an RBI single by Kendry Morales that extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games. The 14 runs were a season high for the Angels.

Pettitte allowed six runs on seven hits in 4 1-3 innings after allowing six runs last Monday.

"To tell the truth, I feel better right now than I've felt the whole season, as far as the command of my pitches and the way my fastball is sinking," Pettitte said. "I've just got to keep going out and keep pitching. It's not like I haven't gone through horrible stretches in my career."

NOTES: A-Rod had his first multihomer game of the season. ... Hinske, the 2002 AL rookie of the year with Toronto, has three homers in nine at-bats with the Yankees - two more than he hit in 106 at-bats this season with the Pirates. The multihomer game was the seventh of his career.