Voit Homers Twice Leading Yankees To Victory Over Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Yankees slugger Luke Voit showed last season what an unproven player can gain when injuries create opportunities for playing time.
With New York depleted almost beyond recognition, Mike Ford and the rest of this year's injury replacements are seizing their moment.
Voit homered twice and Ford went deep for the first time in the majors to lead New York over the Los Angeles Angels 7-5 Tuesday night. The Yankees have won five straight and seven of their last eight despite having 13 players on the injured list.
"It's fun. Guys are stepping up in big-time roles," said Voit, who got his third multihomer game and extended his hitting streak to 10. "A lot of guys are going to be coming back and players are going to be going up and down, but there's always a chance to make a name for yourself now."
Voit has reached base in 34 straight games and has 20 home runs in 55 games dating back to Aug. 24, which leads the American League. He was stuck with St. Louis' Triple-A affiliate last season before being traded to the Yankees, who needed a big bat with injuries to slugger Aaron Judge and others. They found it in Voit, a beefy slugger who has become a lineup regular.
He opened the scoring with a solo shot in the first inning for the second straight game, and then added another in the eighth to make it 7-1.
Ford, called up for the first time last week, hit a two-run shot in the fifth off starter Chris Stratton (0-2). Brett Gardner had four hits, his second game with three or more, and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.
Domingo Germán (4-1) allowed an unearned run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. It is the second time in four starts the right-hander has not given up an earned run.
"Everyone feels like they are contributing and that's been the case," manager Aaron Boone said. "When you are beat up and feeling adversity you need everyone to pull their weight. I think that has been one of the common themes over the past week."
Los Angeles' Justin Bour hit a grand slam off Chad Green in the eighth, but Zack Britton pitched the ninth for his first save.
Brian Goodwin and David Fletcher each had two hits for the Angels, who have dropped five of six on their current homestand. Stratton failed to retire the Yankees in order in any inning and allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings.
"It would be nice to be jump on a team early, but it's a good sign they're not giving up. They're fighting," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. "We're missing a couple big pieces of our offense so I'm not concerned about it. The pitching is like we said all along. If we can get our starters through the first half of a game, we feel like we have a strong bullpen that can hold any lead."
GREEN STRUGGLING
Green had been a most reliable piece in New York's bullpen the past two seasons, but his ERA this year is 16.43.
Boone said Green is fine physically but that he continues to struggle with finishing off hitters.
"I'm not executing where I need to and that's the bottom line. It has been really bad so far," Green said.
BOUR'S BIG HIT
Bour has got off to a slow start in his first season with the Angels. He came into the game batting .200, but is hoping that his fourth career grand slam can help him bounce back.
"Obviously I haven't gotten off to a hot start here, and Angels fans have let me know it, so it was good to put a good swing on it. I'm glad some results are showing," said Bour, who raised his average to .203.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: C Gary Sanchez (left calf strain) rejoined the team on Tuesday and is expected to be activated off the injured list on Wednesday. Sanchez is hitting .268 and is tied for the team lead in home runs with six.
Angels: OF Justin Upton (turf toe) has been moved to the 60-day injured list. Ausmus said Upton is out of his walking boot but has not started jogging yet. ... P Tyler Skaggs (ankle) had a bullpen session and could be ready to rejoin the rotation by the weekend.
UP NEXT
CC Sabathia (1-0, 0.00 ERA) needs six strikeouts to become the third left-hander and 17th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 for his career. RHP Felix Peña (0-1, 4.15) takes the hill for the Angels and makes his first start against the Yankees.
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