Anderson rates a 10

So this is what the Angels’ lineup looks like with a legitimate power hitter batting behind Vladimir Guerrero.

One game does not a season make, but oh, what a game it was. Cleanup hitter Garret Anderson broke out of a power slump in a huge way Tuesday night, knocking in a franchise-record 10 runs to lead the Angels to an 18-9 thumping of the New York Yankees in Angel Stadium.

Anderson’s one-man barrage featured his club-record eighth grand slam, which capped a five-run sixth inning, a three-run home run, which capped a five-run third, an RBI double during the Angels’ five-run second, and a two-run double in the first.

With runners on first and third and two out in the eighth, Anderson had a chance to break the major league record of 12 RBIs in a game and the American League record of 11 RBIs in a game, but he grounded out to shortstop.

Anderson, who increased his season total from 40 to 50 RBIs, broke Guerrero’s single-game franchise RBI record of nine, set against the Boston Red Sox on June 2, 2004. The last player to drive in 10 runs in a game was the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, who did it against the Angels on April 26, 2005. It was the sixth time since 1969 that a player drove in 10 or more in a game.

Anderson’s grand slam, a no-doubt-about-it liner to right field off reliever Sean Henn, drew a huge roar and standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 44,264, which wouldn’t settle down until the usually stoic Anderson came out of the dugout for a curtain call.

And to think, Anderson, limited to 76 games this season because of a hip injury, entered Tuesday’s game with a .298 on-base percentage, a .204 average with runners in scoring position and questions about whether he should still be batting cleanup.

Entering the Yankees series, Anderson had gone 53 at-bats without an extra-base hit and 67 at-bats, dating to Aug. 1, without a homer. He now has five extra-base hits in his last 10 at-bats.

“Our team isn’t built around power, so we need Garret to get back to doing what he normally does with runners in scoring position,” Manager Mike Scioscia said before the Yankees series. “When he’s going well, he’s an RBI machine, and we need that, because we’re not a team that’s going to hit the ball out of the park with regularity.”

Anderson’s historic night, which was augmented by Howie Kendrick’s four hits and three runs, and Maicer Izturis’ three hits and four runs, helped the Angels maintain a two-game lead over surging Seattle in the American League West and dropped the Yankees six games behind Boston in the AL East.

The Angels, who have a major league-best 42-17 record at home, have scored 10 runs or more in six of their last seven home games. They’ve won 21 of their last 31 games against the Yankees and are 61-54 against them since 1996, and their 18 runs were the most they’ve scored against the Yankees in club history.

Kelvim Escobar was the pitching beneficiary, surviving a four-run third inning to go six innings, allowing five runs and five hits, to improve to 14-6. Yankees starter Mike Mussina, who was pounded for seven runs and seven hits, five of them doubles, in 1 2/3 innings, took the loss.

The Angels’ victory was somewhat tempered by an injury to .335-hitting leadoff batter Chone Figgins, who left the game after spraining his left wrist on a check-swing in the third inning. Figgins, who walked twice and scored twice, was listed as day to day and will be re-evaluated today.

Guerrero also reached a milestone with an RBI double in the second, which gave him 100 RBIs for the fourth consecutive season, joining Anderson, who surpassed the 100-RBI mark from 2000-2003, as the only Angels to accomplish that feat.

The Angels batted around and scored five runs in both the second and third innings. Jeff Mathis keyed the second-inning rally with a two-run double, and Anderson had the big hit in the third, a three-run homer to right off reliever Edwar Ramirez, a right-hander who was released by the Angels twice.

Rodriguez hit two home runs for the Yankees, giving him 42 on the season.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com