Angels' CJ Wilson Limits Yankees To 2 Runs In Win

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) C.J. Wilson outdid Andy Pettitte with seven effective innings, Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo each had three hits and Chris Iannetta singled home the go-ahead run, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night.

Wilson (5-5) allowed two runs and five hits, struck out four and walked three while winning for only the second time in his last eight starts.

Ernesto Frieri followed Kevin Jepsen out of the bullpen and pitched a perfect ninth for his 15th save in 16 attempts, helping hand the Yankees their fourth straight loss following a three-game sweep at Oakland.

Pettitte (5-4) gave up four runs and 11 hits through seven innings on the eve of his 41st birthday.

The three-time All-Star lefty struck out four, increasing his total as a Yankee to 1,944 and putting him within 12 of Whitey Ford's franchise record.

The game was tied 2-all when Pujols led off the sixth with a ground-rule double that landed just inside the right field line on the warning track. But the way he chugged into second on that sore left foot and surgically repaired right knee of his was a preview of what was to come.

Trumbo followed with a single to left, and former Angel Vernon Wells made a perfect throw on the fly to catcher Austin Romine for the tag on the struggling Pujols as he made a headfirst slide after being waved around by third base coach Dino Ebel. But Iannetta put Los Angeles ahead three batters later with an RBI single.

Wilson struck out the side in the seventh, and Peter Bourjos led off the bottom half with a towering popup that fell midway between shortstop Reid Brignac and rookie second baseman David Adams behind the bag for a base hit. Two outs later, Pujols singled and Trumbo singled home Bourjos for a 4-2 lead.

Mike Trout ended the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth off former Angels reliever Chris Bootcheck, who was recalled from Triple-A on Friday. Bootcheck ended the inning by retiring Pujols on a first-pitch popup with the bases loaded after getting a visit from pitching coach Larry Rothschild.

The Yankees, coming off a draining 3-2 loss, 18-inning loss Thursday that took 5 hours and 35 minutes, didn't get their first hit until Robinson Cano bounced a single between third baseman Alberto Callaspo and the bag with two out in the fourth.

Wells' single put runners at the corners before Wilson walked just-promoted Thomas Neal to load the bases. Adams, getting a rare start at second base with Cano as the designated hitter, put New York ahead 2-1 with a two-run single that ended an 0-for-12 drought. A walk to Brignac loaded them up again, but Wilson minimized the damage by retiring Romine on a fielder's choice grounder.

The Angels tied it in the bottom half on Iannetta's sacrifice fly. They got their first run on a first-inning RBI double by Howie Kendrick, who came in 4 for 24 against Pettitte. Kendrick is batting .402 over his last 28 games, and his .344 average against the Yankees since 2006 is the highest by any player with a minimum of 175 at-bats against them during that stretch.

Kendrick also came up big with the glove, robbing Adams of a hit in the sixth inning with a diving stop just to the right of second base and flipping to shortstop Erick Aybar to start an inning-ending double play.

NOTES: Three of the seven Yankees who played a defensive position through all 18 innings against Oakland weren't in the starting lineup for the opener of this three-game series - RF Ichiro Suzuki, C Chris Stewart and 3B Kevin Youkilis, who went on the DL again Friday with a back problem. Cano started as DH for only the third time this season. ... Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, who is retiring at the end of this season, made his final trip to the ballpark where he made his major league debut on May 23, 1995 - in a starting role. The man who would become baseball's all-time saves leader struck out his first two batters that night at the "Big A," but allowed five runs in 3 1-3 innings, including a three-run homer by Jim Edmonds. Rivera's mound opponent was Chuck Finley, who beat the Yankees 10-0 with a two-hitter and a career-high 15 strikeouts. ... The Yankees are 516-361 in the regular season since Joe Girardi became manager. He has just 10 fewer wins than Joe Torre did through his first 877 games in pinstripes. ... Wilson, who spent his first five big league seasons as a reliever, is two innings away from 1,000 for his career. ... Pettitte is 2-6 with a 5.75 ERA in his last 10 starts against the Angels. He has never had a complete game at Anaheim in 19 starts here.