Figgins, Kotchman go deep as Angels scorch Yanks

Angels 10, Yankees 6

NEW YORK (AP) -- Casey Kotchman, Chone Figgins and the Los Angeles Angels made it an even messier day for the New York Yankees.

Kotchman and Figgins homered, Vladimir Guerrero doubled twice and the Angels kept winning against the Yankees, battering them 10-6 Friday night.

"We've held our own against them," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

More than that, actually.

The Angels are the only AL team to own an edge over New York since Joe Torre became its manager before the 1996 season. The Angels are now 56-52 against the Yankees in the regular season in that span -- they've also beaten them twice in the playoffs.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner also took aim at some of the Yankees. He told The Associated Press that general manager Brian Cashman was "on a big hook" for the team's early struggles and took issue with Jason Giambi's recent remarks about performance-enhancing drugs, saying the slugger "should have kept his mouth shut."

Ruffled or not, the Yankees didn't offer a strong response on the field as they dropped to 21-25.

New York may have lost center fielder Johnny Damon, too. He left early because of leg cramps, won't play Saturday and could wind up on the disabled list.

"It's not like every time we lose it's 'here we go again," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "It's not like the end of the world and we're back to playing the way we were."

Along with eight extra-base hits, the Angels relied on their fielding to support an unsteady Jered Weaver (4-3). Before the game became a rout, the AL West leaders made several sparkling plays to stay ahead.

"Defense is always more gratifying than offense," Kotchman said.

The victory provided a nice send-off for Scioscia. He'll miss the next two games at Yankee Stadium while going back to California to attend the high school graduation of his son, who will play baseball at Notre Dame next fall.

Guerrero and Kotchman each got three hits and Orlando Cabrera scored three times. The Angels scored three times in the fifth for a 6-2 lead, highlighted by an RBI double by Gary Matthews Jr.

They broke open the game with four more runs in the sixth for a 10-3 lead. Figgins, batting only .133 at gametime, hit his first home run of the season.

Weaver gave up three runs in five innings. The Yankees could've scored more, but Kotchman made two nifty stops at first base, Cabrera's diving stop robbed Rodriguez of an RBI single and left fielder Tommy Murphy threw out Jorge Posada at the plate to keep it 6-3 in the fifth.

"We played good defense behind him to get out of the fifth," Scioscia said.

Other than Alex Rodriguez's major league-leading 19th home run and Robinson Cano's late three-run double, it was a tough day for the Yankees.

Rookie Tyler Clippard (1-1) couldn't duplicate last Sunday night's success in his major league debut and middle relievers Matt DeSalvo and Luis Vizcaino were hit hard.

"This club will beat your brains in," Torre said. "If you don't pitch, you can't expect to control the game."

Reliever Ron Villone nearly threw a wild pitch during an intentional walk and the Yankees badly left a base uncovered on Mike Napoli's bases-loaded sacrifice fly. Damon dropped Kotchman's sinking liner for an RBI single, prompting dispirited fans to shout "Ber-nie Wil-liams!"

Clippard drew headlines of "Yankee Clippard" after beating the New York Mets last weekend in the Subway Series. The 22-year-old righty got a nice reception from the crowd of 50,363 -- the Bleacher Creatures made a rare exception and chanted his name during their first-inning roll call.

Clippard has a unique habit of taking most of his warmup pitches from the stretch position. He needed it against the Angels, too, giving up three runs and six hits in four innings.

"I didn't have my best stuff," he said.

Game notes
Damon will be re-evaluated Saturday. "My legs felt a little shot all day," he said. ... The Angels tied a season high with 14 hits. ... Jeter singled in the seventh, giving him a 19-game hitting streak. ... Rodriguez scored twice, giving him 1,400 career runs. ... Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 15 games, matching a career best. ... Napoli has hit in a career-high 12 straight games.