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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The way Mark Teixeira looks at it,
getting booed on the road is a badge of honor. And the brutal
treatment he's received at Angel Stadium the past three seasons
would serve as the ultimate compliment to him. Teixeira homered twice against his former team, Nick Swisher
also went deep and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels
5-3 on Sunday to win the three-game series. Teixeira called Anaheim home for less than three months during
the 2008 season before bolting for free agency. He gets booed as
loudly at Angel Stadium as Alex Rodriguez does because of the
abrupt way he left to sign an eight-year, $180 million contract
with the Yankees. "I would expect nothing else," Teixeira said with a big grin.
"I mean, it's funny because I've answered this question at
probably half the ballparks I play in. When you play well and
you're a Yankee, you get booed a lot -- especially when you don't
sign with a team after you become a free agent. But I've always
said, when I stop getting booed, that means I'm not playing well
anymore and I'm out of the game. So it doesn't really bother me." Bartolo Colon (3-3) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3
innings as the Yankees concluded a 6-3 road trip and maintained
their one-game lead over second-place Boston in the AL East. Derek Jeter had a single in five at-bats, moving within 14 hits
of 3,000. The Yankees begin a 10-game homestand Tuesday night
against the Red Sox. Teixeira increased New York's lead to 2-0 in the third
inning with a two-out solo homer off Joel Pineiro (2-3). He made it
4-2 in the fifth with his 18th of the season and ninth in 16 games,
a towering shot to right after the right-hander walked Curtis
Granderson with two outs. "I'm just trying to be aggressive. And when I get a pitch to
drive, I try not to miss it," Teixeira said. "Sometimes when you
don't hit home runs, a lot of it is because you're a little tired
and your bat's a little slow. But physically, I feel like we've had
a lot of off days and I've taken care of myself as I always do. And
my bat has felt pretty quick all season. "I'd still like to get a few more hits because my average isn't
where I want it," he added. "I want to hit .300 every year and I
want to hit 30-plus homers every year. I mean, if my average is in
the low .300s and all I'm doing is hitting home runs, then I've got
to start looking at it. But I'm drawing walks and driving in runs,
and that's what I'm here for. And I'd love to keep this thing
rolling." It was the ninth multihomer game by a Yankees player this season
and the 30th of Teixeira's nine-year career. New York leads the
majors with 88 home runs, including Swisher's solo shot high off
the right-field pole in the eighth against Kevin Jepsen. Colon, who won a Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005, was
coming off a 5-0 victory last Monday at Oakland -- his first shutout
in five seasons. The 38-year-old right-hander departed after 90 pitches with a
4-3 lead and a runner at second base before David Robertson
finished the sixth, striking out Maicer Izturis with the bases
loaded on his 21st pitch of the inning after a pair of two-out
walks. "I really didn't want to walk a couple of guys, but I didn't
have my best stuff today and I had to work really hard for the
outs," Robertson said. "I couldn't find the strike zone and I
didn't really have a good feel for my breaking ball, but I wasn't
going to give in. I was very fortunate to get out of that
situation. It was a big relief, because if he puts that ball in
play or gets a base hit, two or three runs could score and there
goes a win for us." Joba Chamberlain fanned Howard Kendrick with two on to end the
seventh, then pitched a hitless eighth. Mariano Rivera got three
outs for his 16th save in 19 chances and the 575th of his career,
26 shy of Trevor Hoffman's major league record. Pineiro gave up four runs, nine hits and three walks over 6 2/3
innings and struck out four. He has lost three straight starts,
following a pair of no-decisions. "I thought I had good stuff," Pineiro said. "You limit the
long ball and maybe you have a chance to win. But they're built off
the long ball, and obviously they did that today. I guess
(Teixeira) was seeing the ball well today. I thought the changeup
was a good pitch, then he went and got the sinker." Game notes
Jeter has not struck out in his last 52 plate
appearances, the longest streak of his 17-year career. His previous
best was 49 straight in April 2001. ... The Angels are 6 for 36
with the bases loaded. Last season they batted .297 in those
situations (33 for 111). ... Hanging on the wall beside the water
cooler and coffee machine in the Yankees' clubhouse was a photo of
former Angels conditioning coach Jimmie Reese, which visiting
clubhouse manager Bubba Hawkins dug out for this series. Reese, who
died in 1994 at age 92, was a roommate of Babe Ruth's when they
were Yankees teammates in 1930 and 1931.
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