Jones, Eovaldi salvage Yankees' trip finale with win over Angels
Nathan Eovaldi has become a solution to many of the New York Yankees' woes, particularly when they're facing the Los Angeles Angels.
Eovaldi pitched scoreless, five-hit ball into the sixth inning, Garrett Jones homered and the Yankees snapped their three-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night.
Chase Headley and Didi Gregorius had run-scoring singles for the Yankees, who had lost seven of 10 before salvaging the finale of their seven-game trip.
Eovaldi (8-1) had little trouble with the Angels' punchless lineup, allowing just two runners to reach third base in his third straight win -- and his second victory over Los Angeles in less than a month. He was the winning pitcher in three of the Yankees' five victories since June 20.
"He's given us a chance to win just about every time out there, and that's great," said Headley, who had three hits. "He's come into a new league, and the AL East is a tough division for pitching, so he's done well for us."
Eovaldi left after walking Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to load the bases with one out in the sixth. Chasen Shreve coolly escaped the jam, getting Erick Aybar on a popup and David Freese on a grounder.
"He's been doing it all year, so we have a ton of confidence in him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Shreve. "I felt good about bringing him in in that situation, and obviously he did an outstanding job."
Los Angeles drew two walks from Dellin Betances in the ninth, but the right-hander struck out pinch-hitter C.J. Cron for his seventh save.
Trout homered for the Angels, whose four-game winning streak ended while their front office was in upheaval.
The Angels announced general manager Jerry Dipoto's resignation during the game, replacing him with former GM Bill Stoneman. Manager Mike Scioscia insisted he had no problems with Dipoto or their working relationship despite widespread reports of friction.
"We've had some things that could have been big distractions already come through our doors this year," Scioscia said. "Our guys are holding up fine. They're going to be able to keep their focus on everything."
Matt Shoemaker (4-7) dropped to 0-6 at Angel Stadium this season, yielding seven hits and two runs while pitching into the sixth inning. The 16-game winner as a rookie last season has just two victories in his last 13 starts.
"I really only had one bad pitch, and it was to Jones," Shoemaker said. "We had a great game plan put together."
Gregorius singled leading off the third and eventually scored on Headley's two-out single.
Brett Gardner extended his hitting streak to nine games with a fifth-inning single, but struck out with the bases loaded in the eighth shortly after Gregorius' RBI single.
Jones connected on a two-out, two-strike pitch in the sixth, putting it in the elevated stands in right field for his fifth homer. Jones, who was acquired from Miami in the same trade that brought Eovaldi to New York, slowed a 6-for-37 skid at the plate.
Jones was glad to play a part in alleviating the Yankees' offensive woes.
"It's not like we're going up there striking out, or not squaring up balls," Jones said. "And when we do square up balls, it's like they're right at somebody or guys are diving and making catches. But that's part of the game, so we're just doing everything we can right now to get out of that funk."
Trout hit his 21st homer off Justin Wilson with two outs in the eighth, but Betances got the game's final four outs.
YANKEES MOVE
The Yankees selected the contract of OF Taylor Dugas from Double-A Trenton and outrighted RHP Esmil Rogers to Triple-A Scranton. "He's a guy who can provide us with some depth in the outfield," Girardi said. "We can put him at either corner. We felt we needed another outfielder with Carlos (Beltran) being down and (Jose) Pirela only playing a little bit out there."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: Beltran wasn't in the starting lineup after straining his ribcage Tuesday, but said he could pinch-hit.
Angels: Reliever Mike Morin was activated after missing more than a month with a strained oblique muscle.
UP NEXT
Yankees: New York hasn't announced a starter for its opener against Tampa Bay on Friday in the Bronx.
Angels: Garrett Richards (8-5, 3.54 ERA) opens a nine-game trip in Texas against Josh Hamilton and the Rangers on Friday.
