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Posada, Rodriguez help Yankees blast past Angels

Jul 7, 2007 - 4:18 AM BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez's hamstring is feeling better. It appears his bat also is doing just fine.

Rodriguez's return to the lineup was a successful one as he collected three hits, including a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning as the New York Yankees recorded a wild 14-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday night.

Rodriguez was back in his customary cleanup spot in the batting order after missing his first game of the season Thursday with a strained left hamstring. He suffered the injury Monday, when he collided with Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau and then tried to play through it but had a pair of 0-for-4 outings at the plate.

"It took that ball about three seconds to get out of the ballpark and defensively he was terrific," said Yankees manager Joe Torre of Rodriguez's homer. "It was great, he probably needed that day yesterday."

Rodriguez's big return gave the Yankees their fourth win in five games. In their last four victories, New York has scored 34 runs.

"This has been a season of waves and we just want to ride this one as long as we can," Rodriguez said.

On Thursday, Rodriguez underwent an MRI, which showed no damage. After being examined, he watched from the dugout as the Yankees collected 13 hits in a 7-6 victory that was punctuated by Hideki Matsui's two-run blast in the eighth.

Rodriguez returned Friday and quickly snapped a season-worst 0-for-19 skid with a leadoff double in the second as the Yankees opened a 2-0 lead. After the Angels moved ahead by a run, the All-Star singled and scored on Jorge Posada's two-run double as New York took an 8-3 advantage.

On many nights, that would have been enough for Andy Pettitte, who was coming off an awful start against Oakland on Sunday. But the Angels knocked out the lefthander in the sixth, when Chone Figgins capped a four-run rally with a two-run single off rookie Edwar Ramirez, forging a 9-9 tie.

That set the stage for Rodriguez, who had not homered since June 23 at San Francisco. With a run already in, Rodriguez launched an 0-1 pitch from Chris Bootcheck (2-2) into the left field seats in the sixth, giving the Yankees a 12-9 bulge.

Rodriguez's latest home run gave the Yankees a rare win over the Angels, who swept a three-game series at Yankee Stadium in late May.

"The Angels do a lot of things well," Rodriguez said. "So we never trailed in the game and I think that was a big key against them."

"I think (A-Rod) needs a couple of days off. It didn't look he was moving too well," Angels manager Mike Scioscia joked. "Definitely tomorrow and Sunday I would recommend it and get straight to that All-Star game. He had a heckuva game defensively and he made some nice plays in the field and obviously his bat."

It was Rodriguez's major league-leading 29th home run and 493rd career, tying him with Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 22nd place on the all-time list.

While Rodriguez delivered the biggest hit of the night, the Yankees received contributions from everyone in their lineup as they finished with a season-high 19 hits. Melky Cabrera, Posada and Robinson Cano collected three hits apiece, going a combined 9-for-14.

After Pettitte allowed eight runs and and 10 hits in five-plus innings, Ramirez (1-0) worked 1 1/3 frames for his first career victory. Unlike his debut on Tuesday, when he struck out the side in his only inning of work, it was not an easy outing for the 26-year-old righthander, who opened the seventh by allowing a double by Orlando Cabrera and plunking Robb Quinlan.

"He got tested under fire," said Torre of Ramirez. "That can only be good for him down the road."

Scott Proctor replaced Ramirez and threw a wild pitch that advanced the runners. But he escaped unscathed by striking out Gary Matthews Jr. on a check swing and fanning Garret Anderson on a 71 mile-per-hour curveball.

"Every out was big and it was a nice win for the team," Proctor said.

New York added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth as Cabrera and Derek Jeter produced RBI singles.

While Pettitte turned in another shaky outing, Angels starter Bartolo Colon was worse. The portly righthander, who is winless in his last eight starts, was roughed up for seven runs and seven hits in just two-plus innings.

"I actually thought I had good stuff," said Colon through an interpreter. "I was surprised the results weren't there."