Insider Trade Incites Angels

This was a showcase for the kid, the superstar and the record holder. This was about hits and hit batters and wild pitches, one so wild the benches nearly cleared. And this was about fist pumps from the closer -- a double pump, if you will.

Francisco Rodriguez pumped once after he rescued the Angels by striking out Alex Rodriguez to end the eighth inning. The Angels’ closer pumped again after the ninth inning, as a fly ball descended a few feet shy of a grand slam, this second pump from high to low, so low his right fist almost scraped the ground.

The right-hander could exhale, finally. So could the Angels, and so too could a vocal and bipartisan sellout crowd.

The Angels endured a long, exciting, suspenseful and occasionally hostile Saturday afternoon, and they emerged with a 12-7 victory over the New York Yankees.

“The crowd is always a little different when the Yankees are in town,” pitcher John Lackey said. “Everything kind of gets amped up a little bit.”

The Angels pummeled New York for 16 hits Friday and 16 more Saturday. If they win today, they’ll sweep the Yankees at Angel Stadium for the first time since 1995.

Howie Kendrick, the kid, put the Angels ahead for good with one of his four hits, a sixth-inning home run that broke a 5-5 tie. The Angels scored in six of eight at-bats; the Yankees in five of nine.

“It seems like, no matter how many runs you’re up by, they’re going to come back,” said Kendrick, who fell a triple shy of the cycle but boosted his average against the Yankees to .650.

Vladimir Guerrero, the superstar, missed the cycle by a home run. Garret Anderson, who has driven in more runs than anyone in club history, drove in four for the first time this season, two on a home run. The Angels had the two home runs, the triple from Guerrero and six doubles, two by Orlando Cabrera.

The game within the game occurred in the fifth inning, after the Angels had routed New York starter Cory Lidle. In the top of the inning, Angels starter Ervin Santana hit Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter on the left arm.

Jeter took first base without incident, and no one suggested Santana had thrown at him intentionally, but Lackey had hit him on Friday. Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Santana and Lackey were throwing inside, not at Jeter, but you don’t hit Jeter twice and not expect a response.

So, on the first pitch in the bottom of the inning, Yankees reliever Brian Bruney threw a fastball high and tight to Guerrero. You throw at our star, we’ll throw at yours, message sent, no umpire intervention needed or provided.

Guerrero, asked whether he was upset by the pitch, said, “No. I’m fine.”

Said Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy: “The message was received well. They’re protecting Derek. They have every right to do that.”

Two batters later, Bruney threw a pitch behind Juan Rivera, and a fracas almost erupted. Rivera yelled at Yankees catcher Sal Fasano and gestured toward the Yankees’ bench, at Jorge Posada.

But before any players could run onto the field, plate umpire Tim McClelland corralled Rivera.

Bruney was not ejected, but both teams were warned. After the game, Scioscia was livid.

“What that kid did, throwing behind Juan, I don’t know what that was about,” Scioscia said. “There’s no need for that.”

Said Lackey: “He wouldn’t be in the big leagues if he always misses by that much.”

According to Rivera, Fasano told him, “It’s all related to Derek Jeter.” Rivera said he told Fasano that Santana was not throwing at Jeter.

Rivera also said he saw Posada out of the corner of his eye, moving from the far end of the Yankees’ dugout, and thought he might be headed toward the field to fight. Rivera said he later apologized to Posada.

That left Bruney as the villain, sort of. Scioscia said Bruney could warrant a fine or suspension from the league office, even though Bruney had not been ejected. Scioscia might get his wish, since Bruney went beyond the usual I-was-just-throwing-inside and appeared to acknowledge purpose in his pitches.

“Everybody needs to be protected,” said Bruney, 24, a Yankee for all of six days. “These guys go to war for us every day.”

Said Kennedy: “Maybe once wasn’t enough for them to get the message across. It’s not that big a deal, really. You can’t blame their pitcher for wanting to show his respect toward Derek.”