Trout hits 20th HR, Angels top Yankees
Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Trout and C.J. Cron both hit solo homers, and C.J. Wilson pitched six quality innings to lead the Angels past the Yankees 4-1 in the opener of a three-game series.
Wilson (6-6), who surrendered six runs against the Yankees earlier this month, limited them this time to one run on five hits to earn the win.
The Angels have won four of their last five, and the Yankees dropped their second in a row thanks to going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Brett Gardner recorded three hits to lead New York's offense, while CC Sabathia (3-8) allowed all four runs on six hits over 7 1/3 innings of work.
"When (Sabathia) made a mistake they squared it up," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "When you miss, you're going to get hit."
Albert Pujols slapped a double down the right-field line in the first inning to knock in Johnny Giavotella, and the Yankees tied it up in the third courtesy of Alex Rodriguez's RBI single.
Carlos Beltran struck out to leave the bases loaded, however, and Trout sent a Sabathia pitch into the rocks beyond the center-field wall for his 20th home run in the bottom half.
"It was a two-seam (fastball) inside. That pitch usually gets by me, but I got around on it," Trout said.
Kole Calhoun tacked on an RBI double in the fifth, and after Trevor Gott stranded runners at the corners, Cron hammered his second home run of the year down the left-field line and over the wall in the bottom of the seventh.
Joe Smith worked a scoreless eighth, and Huston Street worked around a two-out single in the ninth to earn his 22nd save.
Game Notes
Trout is the sixth AL player with four 20-plus home run campaigns before their age-24 season, joining Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Tony Conigliaro, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez ... Gardner is hitting .510 (25-for-49) over his last 11 games ... Sabathia, who bested Wilson in their last meeting on June 7, suffered his first loss since May 28 ... The Yankees had won five straight meetings, including a three-game sweep in the Bronx from June 5-7.