A-Rod hits HR No. 30 as Yankees crush Angels

Jul 8, 2007, 20:20 GMT

Bronx, NY - Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano all hit three-run homers as New York blitzed the LA Angels of Anaheim, 12-0, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez finished 2-for-5 with four runs batted in for the Yankees, who have won three of four games but are a disappointing 42-43 at the All-Star break. The star third baseman, who announced he will play in the All-Star game despite a sore hamstring, leads the major leagues with 30 home runs and 86 RBI.

'It was a heartbreaker last night, but we're getting contributions from a lot of people now,' said Rodriguez of the Yanks' recent surge. 'It's been an interesting first half, and we have to combine winning and individual stuff to have a successful second half. All the individual stuff is great as long as we're winning. We're playing with a lot of heart right now. The key is to have the entire 25-man roster do the best they can.'

Chien-Ming Wang (9-4) threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. The Taiwanese star battled through a blister problem and allowed just five hits while walking two and fanning three. Wang has now hurled 13 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings for New York. Mike Myers, Scott Proctor and Ron Villone combined for 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to finish the shutout.

Garret Anderson was 2-for-3 for the Angels, who have dropped four of six heading into the break.

Ervin Santana (5-10) was touched for nine runs on seven hits in just three innings of work en route to the loss. The struggling right-hander has now lost four consecutive decisions.

'It's not easy, every time you're behind in the count because you have to make adjustments and they're waiting on certain pitches,' Santana said. 'Today, I was not that good. I just didn't have command, fastball, slider, whatever.'

The Yankees jumped all over Santana in the first. Melky Cabrera got things started with a one-out single, moved to third on Derek Jeter's base hit and scored after Rodriguez looped an RBI single to left. Matsui then capped the frame by turning on a Santana pitch and depositing it way over the wall in right to make it 4-0.

New York really put things way in the fourth with a pair of three-run homers. Jorge Posada was hit by a pitch and Bobby Abreu singled before Cano ripped a towering drive down the right field line to make it a 7-0 game.

Andy Phillips kept things going by driving a double to right. After Johnny Damon walked, the Angels had seen enough of Santana and pulled the starter. Chris Resop came in and got a pair of outs but Rodriguez then lined a pitch just over the wall in left for his 30th homer of the year to give the Yankees a commanding 10-0 lead.

Miguel Cairo's two-run pinch hit double in the seventh accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Rodriguez's home run was the 494th of his career and he passed Yankee legend Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for sole possession of 22nd on the all-time list...Resop left the game in the fourth with right elbow irritation...Wang beat the Angels for the first time and is now 36-15 in his career.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

.