Andrew Heaney pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, Albert Pujols and Erick Aybar hit back-to-back homers in the sixth, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Yankees 2-1 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory.
Mike Trout and Matt Joyce had two hits apiece for the Angels, who have won six of eight on their nine-game homestand. Los Angeles (41-37) heads into July four games above .500 for the first time since June 1.
Pujols hit his AL-leading 24th homer and set an Angels record with his 13th homer of a spectacular month.
Mark Teixeira homered for the Yankees, who have lost seven of 10.
Pujols and Aybar connected to spoil a strong start by Ivan Nova, who yielded eight hits and two walks while striking out seven.
Nova (1-1) left later in the sixth inning of his second start back from elbow ligament replacement surgery in April 2014.
Heaney (1-0) was stellar in his second start for the Angels, who acquired the rangy left-hander in the offseason for 2014 hits leader Howie Kendrick. Given his first chance in Los Angeles' rotation while Jered Weaver is injured, Heaney walked two and struck out seven, allowing just one runner to reach second base.
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Heaney got barely enough offense from the Angels' light-hitting lineup, but was backed by strong defense and relief. Huston Street finished for his 23rd save while pitching in the Angels' fourth straight game.
After Nova stranded six runners in the first five innings, Pujols led off the sixth by putting his 544th career homer into the ficus trees beyond center field. He also passed Tris Speaker for 13th place on baseball's career extra-base hits list with his 1,132nd.
Aybar followed him with another homer into the ficus trees, just his second of a rough season for the shortstop. He hadn't homered since May 22.
Teixeira connected in the second inning for his 19th homer, albeit his first since June 15. His 11-game homer drought was his longest of the season.
New York's Carlos Beltran apparently injured himself while batting in the fifth. He was replaced by Garrett Jones in right field in the bottom half of the inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: OF Jacoby Ellsbury sat out of a scheduled rehab game with the Tampa Yankees on Tuesday. Manager Joe Girardi cited "general fatigue" for the slight delay in his return from a strained right knee ligament.
Angels: Reliever Mike Morin is "close" to returning to the Angels after completing his rehab assignment, manager Mike Scioscia said. He has been out since May 24.
UP NEXT
Yankees: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (7-2, 4.81 ERA) has already set a career high for wins in his debut season with New York.
Angels: Matt Shoemaker (4-6, 5.03 ERA) makes his first career start against the Yankees. He hasn't won at Angel Stadium this season.
