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Hunter, Rivera help Angels jolt Yankees

Aug 1, 2008 - 4:07 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Torii Hunter refers to working the count against opposing pitchers as "cripple counts" and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim spent virtually all of July doing that.

Hunter and Juan Rivera hit three-run home runs in the third inning as the Angels roughed up Andy Pettitte and opened a four-game series with a 12-6 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

Vladimir Guerrero added another three-run shot for the Angels, who hit three home runs in a game for the first time since June 8, 1978 at Oakland when Don Baylor, Brian Downing and Ron Jackson accomplished the feat. They also became the first visiting team to have three home runs that all scored at least three runs since Kansas City on August 10, 1986.

The home runs were part of a 18-hit attack, which featured four-hit performances from leadoff hitter Chone Figgins and designated hitter Garret Anderson, who batted .384 this month.

The combination of power and timely hitting added up to the Angels' fourth straight win and 11th in 13 games since the All-Star break. The last four wins have been against the Boston Red Sox and Yankees and have seen the Angels score 34 times.

A night after reaching Boston ace Josh Beckett for eight runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings, the Angels slightly surpassed that against Pettitte. They rocked him for nine runs and a 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

They did so by working the count early in the contest and it eventually paid off with two outs in the third when the Angels scored six runs, equaling their best inning of the season.

"That's what we did," Hunter said. "We actually worked the count. Early on this season, we were one of the teams that swung at everything. The last week or so, we've been working the counts, getting guys in cripple counts and we're able to take advantage of it.

"Today it showed. We got Pettitte, one of the nastiest lefthanders in the game and we were able to get him behind and get a pitch that we want."

Hunter swung at a 2-0 pitch and it landed in the right-center field bleachers. It was his 18th home run of the season and sixth in the last nine games.

"We got Pettitte's pitch count up early and Torii got us going," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're fortunate we got it going. You need to do that against a good club like the Yankees. I think we have the potential to pressure teams on the offensive end every inning. The offense has gotten to the point we thought it could at the beginning of the year."

Following singles by Anderson and Howie Kendrick, Rivera swung at the first pitch and sent it over the left-field wall and into the visiting bullpen.

The Angels added a four-run sixth that sent Pettitte out of the game. They turned it into a rout when Guerrero connected on a 1-0 offering from Chris Britton.

The three home runs gave the Angels 36 in July, an increase of 16 from June.

"I knew if we all started to hit, we could fill the park with line drives - with occasional power," Anderson said.

That proved enough for Jon Garland (10-6), who equaled his win total from last season. Garland pitched six-plus innings, allowing three runs and seven hits.

While the Angels had enjoyable night in all facets of the game, it was a rough one for the Yankees, who have given up 44 runs in losing for the fourth time in five games following a season-high eight-game winning streak.

They got home runs from Bobby Abreu and Xavier Nady but one of Pettitte's worst outings set the tone for a miserable night.

"There was nothing good," Pettitte said. "There was not a whole lot of positives we could take out of it."

The Yankees did have 12 hits and attempted to rally late. They scored three in the ninth but left the bases loaded.

Catcher Ivan Rodriguez made his debut behind the plate following his acquisition from Detroit on Wednesday. He went 1-for-3 but also allowed three stolen bases.