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Yankees-Angels Preview

Apr 24, 2010 - 6:46 AM By PAUL DIGIACOMO STATS Senior Editor

New York (11-5) at Los Angeles (9-9), 4:10 p.m. EDT

Joel Pineiro has gotten better each time out for the Los Angeles Angels. The same can be said for New York Yankees veteran Andy Pettitte.

Pineiro and Pettitte square off Saturday afternoon, when the Yankees try to end their first losing streak of the season in the middle game of their series in Anaheim.

Pineiro (2-1, 1.77 ERA), in his first season with Los Angeles (9-9), opened 2010 by allowing three runs and five hits while walking three over six innings in a 10-1 loss to Minnesota on April 8.

The right-hander, though, has been nearly flawless in his last two outings. He gave up one run and struck out seven over seven innings to beat the Yankees 5-3 in New York on April 14 before pitching into the eighth in a 2-0 victory over Detroit on Monday, not walking a batter in either start.

"That's the biggest thing for any pitcher is going out there and getting ahead," Pineiro told the Angels' official website.

Against the Yankees (11-5) last week, Pineiro used a sinking fastball to dominate a dangerous lineup.

"He threw some great sinkers. He's got that power in there, but he's using it more for movement," said right fielder Nick Swisher, who had one of New York's five hits off Pineiro. "We never really did much with him."

The Angels didn't do much against Pettitte (2-0, 1.35) in the opener of that series April 13. The left-hander gave up five hits and struck out six over six scoreless innings to win 7-5.

Pettitte followed that start by yielding two runs and four hits over eight innings to beat Texas 5-2 on Sunday.

"It's been fun. Winning's fun - that's all there is to it," Pettitte told the Yankees' official website.

Pettitte wasn't having much fun against the Angels until these teams met in the AL championship series in October. He was 0-4 with a 7.91 ERA in six starts versus Los Angeles before posting a 2.84 ERA in two ALCS outings, winning 5-2 to clinch the pennant in Game 6.

He'll now be looking to help New York avoid a third straight loss after falling 6-4 in Friday's series opener. The Yankees had won six straight and 11 of 14 before a 4-2 defeat at Oakland on Thursday afternoon.

Los Angeles avoided its own three-game skid by winning for the sixth time in eight tries Friday, as Kendry Morales broke a 4-all tie with a two-run homer in the eighth. Morales is batting .463 with five home runs and 12 RBIs in his last 12 regular-season games against New York.

Including the playoffs, New York has lost 24 of 35 in Anaheim since the start of the 2004 season.