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Start me up: Yanks' Nova puts streak on line vs. Angels

Aug 10, 2011 - 3:08 PM (Sports Network) - Six may be a crowd in most rotations, but the Yankees' Ivan Nova seems content on sticking around as long as possible.

Nova will look to further entrench himself into New York's starting mix and prevent his club from dropping a fourth straight game this evening in the continuation of a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Yankee Stadium.

New York added a sixth starter to the rotation when it brought Nova up to pitch a doubleheader versus the Orioles on July 30. He had pitched well before a demotion, going 8-4 with a 4.12 earned run average, but was the odd- man out when Phil Hughes returned from injury.

Nova gave up just two runs on six hits over seven innings to best the Orioles and then turned in a gem against the White Sox on Thursday. The right-hander lasted 7 2/3 innings and allowed one run on six hits, striking out 10 without a walk. That outing has made New York think twice about sending him back to Triple-A.

"That might be as good as we've seen him all year," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He was excellent tonight. I thought his slider made a huge difference for him, the strikeouts that he had, the outs that he got. I thought the command on his fastball was really good."

The 24-year-old Nova, who has lowered his ERA to 3.81, has won three straight starts and six decisions in a row. In fact, he hasn't lost since he faced the Angels for the first and only time in his career on June 3. Nova was charged with three runs -- two earned -- over six frames of work in that one.

With Jered Weaver serving a six-game suspension and the Angels opting to shift the struggling Joel Pineiro to the bullpen, right-hander Garrett Richards will be brought up from Double-A Arkansas to make his major league debut tonight.

The 2009 compensation pick is considered one of Los Angeles' better prospects and is 12-2 with a 3.06 ERA this season in Double A, posting 100 strikeouts over 141 innings. He becomes the second rookie to join the Angels' rotation this season along with Tyler Chatwood and will aim to make an impression on manager Mike Scioscia.

"I think it's great," Scioscia told his team's website of the 23-year-old Richards getting a chance tonight. "I think it's a great challenge for a youngster. We think he's going to pitch his game. If he can come into an atmosphere like Yankee Stadium and pitch a good game, you know how much confidence you can take away form that?"

Richards will get a chance to pitch the Angels to a second straight win over the Yankees after they captured last night's opener, 6-4. Bobby Abreu led the charge with a pair of home runs, including a two-breaking, two-run shot off Yankees closer Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning.

Rivera, fresh off a blown save against Boston on Sunday, retired two straight in the ninth following a leadoff single, but his fifth consecutive cutter to Abreu was redirected into the right-field seats to break a 4-4 tie.

"You never expect as a hitter to hit a home run off of Mariano. First of all, it's tough to make good contact against him, and to hit a homer is nice. Believe me, it's something that is hard to believe," said Abreu, who played with Rivera and the Yankees for two and a half seasons prior to joining the Angels in 2009.

Los Angeles remained 1 1/2 games behind first-place Texas in the American League West despite a fifth victory in seven games, while New York fell 2 1/2 games back of Boston for first in the AL East.

Curtis Granderson hit his 29th homer of the season in the first inning, but made the final out of the game with runners on the corners after falling for a classic fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff attempt by Angels closer Jordan Walden. Granderson was tagged out in a rundown to give Walden his 26th save of the season.

The Yankees took two of three when these clubs met in Anaheim in early June.