Soriano's 2 HRs, 6 RBIs lead Yankees' 14-run breakout
Alfonso Soriano of the Yankees celebrates his two-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels during a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. (Aug. 13, 2013) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Yankees rode a two-homer, six-RBI breakout by Alfonso Soriano to win their third consecutive game and fourth in the last five, a 14-7 rout of the Angels Tuesday night at the Stadium.
The Yankees pounded out 19 hits and matched their season high in runs. They also scored 14 against the Indians on April 9.
In his best performance in six weeks, CC Sabathia allowed three runs and three hits in six innings.
"I thought CC was excellent,'' Joe Girardi said. "I thought his fastball command was really good, thought his changeup was pretty good. I was really pleased with what CC did. But I'll take 14 runs every night.''
Soriano cranked a two-run shot, his 21st, to left-center in the fifth to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead, and he slammed a three-run blast in the seventh to give him a career-high RBI game. Every Yankee had at least one hit and three besides Soriano had three -- Curtis Granderson, Lyle Overbay and Eduardo Nuñez (four RBIs).
Girardi saw signs of Soriano, who admitted recently that he felt lost at the plate, busting out.
"I think there was some anxiety over [getting his 2,000th hit, which occurred Sunday],'' the manager said, "and once he got by it, his at-bats have been much better.''
Soriano agreed.
"I just tried to do too much,'' he said. "Thank God that happened. Now I can relax and try to see the ball better.''
Sabathia also rebounded, striking out six in the first three innings and retiring eight in a row before losing his edge. In the sixth, he walked the bases loaded but was rescued by a questionable call.
Chris Nelson apparently scored from third to tie it on J.B. Shuck's one-out liner to Soriano, whose throw went wide. But Austin Romine threw to third and Nelson was called out for leaving the bag early, preserving a 4-3 lead.
The Yankees then broke the game open with four runs. It was the first time in 13 games that the Yankees (61-57) had scored five or more, ending their longest such stretch since 1991, according to Elias Sports.
Soriano singled in Overbay for a 6-3 lead, and Alex Rodriguez doubled off the base of the leftfield wall for two runs. "It feels more like the old days,'' Soriano said.
The Bombers' fielding, however, was disturbing, as they failed to catch three foul pops in rightfield. "We gave them a lot of extra outs,'' Girardi said. "[Sabathia] could've gone eight innings. I wasn't happy with it.''
After a 26-minute rain delay in the eighth, the Angels scored four in the ninth off Dellin Betances -- three on Mike Trout's homer -- before Joba Chamberlain got the final two outs.
For Sabathia, who won his 10th game, some positives carried over from his last start, a no-decision in Chicago. "It was good just to be able to battle,'' he said. "[To have] some stuff go wrong and still be able to make pitches.''
Sabathia hadn't won since July 3 in Minnesota, compiling a 7.00 ERA in six starts. He walked off to a warm ovation after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh. He threw 110 pitches, allowed two earned runs, walked six and struck out seven.
The big lefty started well, striking out the first two Angels, and could have escaped the first 1-2-3 but Vernon Wells overran Trout's foul fly in right. Trout walked and Mark Trumbo ripped a two-run homer, the 26th home run Sabathia has surrendered this season, the most in his career. But he struck out Josh Hamilton. After that, Girardi said, "He kept them in check.''
Wells lifted a solo shot to right in the second, his first home run since May 15. The Yanks had homered in four straight games, and the raking would continue.
"We were able to tack on runs,'' Girardi said. "It's encouraging.''
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