Justin Speier has off night as Angels lose to Yankees

That Justin Speier comeback player of the year campaign took a hit Thursday night. Actually, four of them.

The veteran reliever appeared to resurrect his Angels career and give a struggling bullpen a shot in the arm with three straight scoreless outings, lowering his earned-run average to 2.08 after a dreadful 2008 season, in which he was 2-8 with a 5.03 ERA.

But with the fog and drizzle rolling into new Yankee Stadium providing an eerie backdrop more suited for a horror flick, Speier made a mess of things in the eighth inning, giving up three runs and four hits.

Melky Cabrera broke a tie with a run-scoring single, and No. 9 hitter Ramiro Pena drove in the first runs of his big league career with a bases-loaded double, leading New York to a 7-4 victory and ending the Angels’ winning streak at three.

“My location has been pretty good; today, it wasn’t,” said Speier, whose ERA ballooned to 5.00. “We have a bad day, it cost us a game. I have a short-term memory. I left it in the shower. I’ll forget about it and come back.”

The loss spoiled a solid effort by rookie pitcher Anthony Ortega, who, in his second big league start, was not fazed by a lineup that had innings of 10 and seven runs the previous two nights against Detroit.

The right-hander gave up four runs -- three earned -- and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking two before yielding to Scot Shields with one on and one out in the seventh inning of a 4-4 game.

“I was honored and proud to take the mound in Yankee Stadium -- it’s a special place to play and team to face,” Ortega said through an interpreter. “Mainly, I kept my confidence level up, trusting that whatever I had out there would work, no matter what park I’m in. I stayed calm, confident.”

So did Shields after walking Johnny Damon to put two on in the seventh. The right-hander got Mark Teixeira, the former Angel, to bounce into a double play to end the inning.

With Jose Arredondo unavailable because he pitched the last two days, Manager Mike Scioscia turned to Speier in the eighth. Hideki Matsui flied to left, but Robinson Cano singled, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.

Jorge Posada hit a ground-rule double, his sixth hit in 10 at-bats against Speier. Nick Swisher was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Cabrera lined Speier’s next pitch into right for a run-scoring single.

Pena then doubled to right for a 7-4 lead, and Mariano Rivera threw a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.

“I thought we had a chance at a double play with Cabrera, and it didn’t work out,” Scioscia said of his decision to walk Swisher. “I felt better going after Cabrera, and with the rookie behind him, let’s see if we could get out of the inning.”

Chone Figgins tripled and scored in the first and hit a run-scoring single in the fifth, and Mike Napoli homered to spark a two-run second and Howie Kendrick had two hits, but the Angels were one for nine with runners in scoring position.

Damon homered in the third, and the Yankees scored two in the fourth with the help of a Bobby Abreu error.

With two on and two out, Derek Jeter rifled a run-scoring single to right, but Abreu misplayed the ball, then dropped the ball as he tried to pick it up, allowing a second run to score and the Yankees to take a 4-3 lead.

“Ortega did a heck of a job,” Scioscia said. “We just couldn’t support him.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com