Angels Clinch Division With Comeback Win Over Yankees

September 11, 2008 12:03 a.m. EST

Anaheim, CA (AHN) - The Angels celebrated at home savoring the victory that clinched the AL West crown. The Yankees headed home wondering if there'll be enough victories to give them another ticket to the postseason.

Rob Quinlan drove home two runs and Vladimir Guerrero reached home on Xavier Nady's error in the fifth as the Angels toppled the Yankees 4-2 in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.

The win, coupled with Texas' 8-7 defeat at Seattle later in the day, gave Los Angeles the AL West title, becoming the first team to clinch a postseason spot in this year's playoffs.

After the Angels and the Yankees split the first two games with lopsided scores of 12-1 and 7-1, both teams struck early in the finale.

New York had a 2-1 advantage after the first inning but Andy Pettitte couldn't hold the lead in the fifth on Quinlan's single to left.

Garrett Anderson and Gary Matthews Jr. scored and Guerrero went to third but sailed to home plate as Nady misfired a throw to third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

The Angels improved the majors' best record to 88-57 with 17 left to play. The Yankees, meanwhile, wrapped up a 5-5 mark in the 10-game swing, hardly the kind of numbers manager Joe Girardi wanted heading down the stretch.

New York heads home to play its final 10 games at Yankee Stadium. They close out the season with three games at Toronto and three more at Fenway Park, with the last matchup apparently becoming a no-bearing one for the fabled rivals.

The Yankees dropped nine games out of the wild-card phase, and 10 ? games off the division lead. With the red-hot Blue Jays making a mini-run via a 10-game winning streak, New York found itself second-to-last in the AL East.

Dustin Moseley gave up two New York runs on Jason Giambi's double in the first before settling in the rest of the way. The right-hander improved to 2-4 with just three hits allowed in five innings.

Francisco Rodriguez hiked his majors-leading saves to 56 with a clean ninth and Kevin Jepsen, Jose Arredondo and Scott Shields combined for three shutout innings.

Other than Giambi, only Derek Jeter and Nady managed a hit for the Yankees, who host Tampa Bay beginning Friday night.

The Angels, who host Seattle via a four-game set starting Thursday, made 11 hits.

Pettitte didn't make it out of five innings and was charged for three earned runs and nine hits. He has now lost six of his last nine starts to drop to 13-13 overall.