By the time Angels rookie Garrett Richards had recorded the first out of his career Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, his ERA dropped from infinity to 81.00. It was that kind of night for the Angels as they allowed 9 runs to the Bronx Bombers. Down 7-2 late with the bases loaded, Peter Bourjos grounded into a double play on the first pitched tossed by Rafael Soriano, called in to relieve starter Ivan Nova. With no outs and the bases loaded in the 7th inning, Soriano threw a total of 4 pitches to retire the side with but a mere run scoring.
The final score, Yankees 9, Angels 3 is not an indicator of how lopsided the contest really was.
Pitcher Joel Piñeiro came out of the bullpen and gave rest to any notion that it would have been better for manager Mike Scioscia to leave him in the rotation. The veteran righty allowed 3 runs in 3 IP. Considering the options, Garrett Richards is the likely fifth starter in the rotation for at least another turn, matching up with the Rangers in Anaheim on Monday.