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Hughes, surging Yankees face Angels

Aug 20, 2007 - 8:51 PM NY Yankees (70-54) at LA Angels (72-51) 10:05 pm EDT

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Rookie Phillip Hughes will take the mound for the surging New York Yankees, who will begin a tough seven-game road trip with the opener of a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday night.

The Yankees won three of four against the Detroit Tigers this weekend, including a 9-3 victory on Sunday afternoon. Johnny Damon hit a key solo homer to give New York a lead it would not relinquish.

In the American League wild card race, the Yankees remained one-half game behind the Seattle Mariners (69-52) for the top spot but distanced themselves from the third-place Tigers (67-57), who now are 3 1/2 games behind.

It will not get any easier for New York, which will open up another four-game set with Detroit after its series in Anaheim. The Yankees then will return home for three games with the first-place Boston Red Sox (74-50), who hold a four-game lead over their rivals in the AL East.

Hughes (2-1, 4.44 ERA) will look to get back on track after a shaky performance in a 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. The 21-year-old allowed three runs and six hits in five innings while striking out four and walking two in that contest.

The righthander has allowed 10 runs and 17 hits in 15 2/3 frames - spanning his last three starts - while striking out 15 and walking five.

He will be opposed by Dustin Moseley (4-2 4.84), who yielded two runs and nine hits in five innings while striking out two and walking one in a 2-1 loss at the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.

The righthander aims to secure another victory for the Angels, who split a four-game set with the Red Sox this weekend. Anaheim is two games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.