Granderson, Cano go deep as Yanks avoid sweep

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The bats came through for the Yankees Wednesday night, fortunate because Ivan Nova didn't.

Led by home runs from Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, the Yankees avoided being swept with a 6-5 victory over the Angels in front of 40,111 at Angel Stadium.

The Yankees (27-23) moved to 4-2 on this nine-game, three-city trip that ends in Detroit. That series starts Friday. The Angels (26-26) saw their eight-game winning streak end.

"Good win,'' catcher Russell Martin said. "It's not the most stress-free win but you're playing a tough team. They were hot. We did just enough to put out the fire.''

Nova (6-2, 5.60) was hit hard, allowing five runs and eight hits in 62/3 innings, marking the third time in his last four outings he's allowed five earned runs.

He gave up the 5-1 lead that was provided by Curtis Granderson's 16th homer of the season, a three-run shot, and Robinson Cano's eighth, a two-run blast, in the third inning.

The lead vanished in a four-run fourth by the Angels, the inning highlighted by another Mark Trumbo home run, a two-run shot that was his fourth in as many games, and a two-run double by 20-year-old rookie Mike Trout.

"It's hard when you know you're not pitching good, especially when you know that you're better than what you're showing right now,'' Nova said. "It's been hard for me. I have to enjoy this win today, the team won, that's the more important thing. I'll keep my head up and go back to work. I know at some point this year I'm going to start pitching better and I hope it's going to be soon.''

Nova still did pick up the win as Nick Swisher's sacrifice fly brought in Raul Ibañez, who had tripled, in the sixth against Hisanori Takahashi. That run gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead that Boone Logan, Cory Wade and Rafael Soriano held.

Held, though with a jittery seventh and ninth.

Lefty Boone Logan replaced Nova with two outs in the seventh to turn around switch-hitter Kendry Morales, who singled to left. Logan stayed in to face Trumbo, who singled to put runners on the corners. In came Wade, who surrendered Trumbo's walk-off homer Monday night, to face Howie Kendrick. Wade won the nine-pitch at-bat by striking out Kendrick swinging and blew away the Angels in the eighth, striking out two of three batters.

"Huge out in the seventh, three big outs in the eighth,'' Joe Girardi said of Wade.

Said Wade: "You're going to come into situations like that [Monday] and you're going to have to forget it when you give up home runs like that. It happens to everybody but the key is to come back and do the job the next time.''

Soriano moved to 6-for-6 in save chances, but it wasn't easy. With one out, Alberto Callaspo walked and Albert Pujols, now 5-for-5 against Soriano, reached on an infield single. But Soriano got Torii Hunter to hit into a force out and retired Trumbo on a fly to left to end it.

"I got to talk to him,'' Soriano joked of Pujols' success against him. "I'll send a text message to him tonight and say, one time let me [get you out]. I have family, too.''

Angels starter Ervin Santana came in with unimpressive numbers -- 2-6 with a 4.45 ERA -- but the numbers were somewhat deceiving. The righthander started the season 0-6 with a 6.16 ERA, though he was 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA in five May starts.

He pitched OK at times Wednesday night but still had the loud five-run third.

The Angels opened the scoring in the first. Nova hit Trout with his third pitch. With Callaspo up, Trout took off for second and the third baseman sent a single through the hole created at short as Derek Jeter went to cover second. Pujols, with seven homers in his last 14 games, walked to load the bases. Nova struck out Morales but Trumbo's sacrifice fly to right brought in Trout to make it 1-0.

The Yankees scored five runs in the third. Martin led off that inning with a walk and Jeter followed with a single, giving him at least one hit in 41 of his 49 games this season. Granderson stepped up and hammered Santana's 3-and-2 pitch well over the wall in right-center to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.

After Alex Rodriguez got hit with a pitch, Cano ripped into a 1-and-2 pitch and knocked it out to make it 5-1.

It got dicey but, eventually, the Yankees left victorious.

"It's nice, 4-2 on the road trip so far sounds a lot better than 3-3,'' Girardi said. "Starting off 3-0 and the way we lost Monday, it's a nice win.''