Bullpen keeps Angels at bay in Yankees' win

The Yankees' bullpen had a stellar performance in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Angels at the Stadium, allowing no runs, two hits and no walks with four strikeouts in four innings.

Freddy Garcia went five innings before handing righthanded sidearmer Cody Eppley a 4-3 lead. Eppley had his best performance of the season, allowing one hit in two innings. David Robertson allowed one hit and struck out two in the eighth and Rafael Soriano closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out Mike Trout -- who had three hits and leads the American League with a .348 average -- and Albert Pujols.

"They've done a tremendous job for us all year long," Joe Girardi said of his bullpen. "It's been different pieces and guys have to do different roles at different times, but I love that job that they're doing. They're ready to pitch at any time I call upon them."

After Robinson Cano's RBI single made it 5-3 in the sixth, Eppley retired the heart of the Angels' order in the seventh, getting Pujols, Kendrys Morales and Mark Trumbo on grounders. It was only the fifth time he threw more than one inning of relief and his longest appearance since a three-inning outing April 28.

"It feels great for [Girardi] to have that confidence in me and give me the opportunity to go out there and pitch," said Eppley, who has a 2.49 ERA.

Boone Logan was warming up when Eppley faced Pujols in the seventh. "We decided that we might turn Morales around if Pujols got on," Girardi said. "Then we're going to have to use a bunch of pitchers to get through that inning possibly. When he got Pujols out, we decided to leave him in. He's been very good at getting ground balls for us, so I left him in."

Robertson struck out Alberto Callaspo and Howie Kendrick to start the eighth and, after allowing a single by Peter Bourjos, got Maicer Izturis to foul out to third.

"I felt good today," Robertson said. "It was one of the good days. Hopefully if I pitch tomorrow, have another good day."

Soriano (1.51 ERA) earned his 22nd save in 23 opportunities and second in two days. After Mariano Rivera was lost to a knee injury May 3, Soriano -- the Yankees' seventh-inning reliever at the time -- replaced him as the closer, and the Yankees haven't missed a beat. Said Girardi, "It's hard to say where we'd be without him.''

Girardi said the bullpen's success has made his job easier. "I always say it's hard if you don't know what you have, but if you know what you have, you know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together," he said. "You put the guys out there to do the job, and when they do the job, obviously your bullpen runs really well.

"A lot of it's dependent on how they do. It's my responsibility to pick times or places where I think they'll be successful, and that's what I try to do . . . We put them in places to be successful, but they have to go out and do it, and they've done that."