Damon was just 1 for 12 against the Twins including an ugly four-strikeout performance in Game Three. But he went 2 for 5 in Friday's opener against the Angels. Figgins, meanwhile, was 0 for 12 in three games against Boston and had an uneventful 0-for-4 night Friday. That made him 0 for 16 in the postseason heading into Game Two on Saturday night in Yankee Stadium. The game ended too late for this edition.

In his nine previous postseason series, Damon had never had fewer than three hits. But after struggling against the Twins, he took part in a simulated game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday while most of his teammates took the day off. It seemed to help.

"I was mostly just staying inside of the ball, trying to keep my head still," Damon said after Friday's game. "It seemed like that game against Pavano I was just jumping out, trying to hit the pitch in front of me instead of waiting for it to get back.

"Pavano set me up with a changeup in the first inning and because of that, I was trying to go out and get the other pitches. Then he changed, throwing his fastball to me, and I couldn't pick it up."

Figgins, meanwhile, and No. 2 hitter Bobby Abreu combined to go 0 for 8 with three strikeouts Friday. So that meant there were no tables set for the middle of the Los Angeles order.

"You need offense from your whole lineup," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Saturday. "It's not always going to happen at the same time where you have three or four or nine guys swinging well. We didn't get much going against CC [Sabathia] and the little offense we did, Figgie wasn't a part of. But it just takes that one hit, that one bloop, that good at-bat to get him back on board.

"I think Figgie and Bobby Abreu all year have been as good a 1-2 as you're going to find. And right now, it's going to make things run a lot smoother if Figgie can get into his game."

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What was the deal in the Los Angeles infield on the dropped popup that fell in front of Erick Aybar in the first inning Friday night? Turns out Figgins was yelling at Aybar from third to take the ball -- but Aybar never heard him with the noise in the stadium because he was wearing full ear flaps to shield his head from the cold.

Macier Izturis took over at second base for the Angels in place of Game One starter Howie Kendrick. Mike Napoli got the start at catcher in place of Jeff Mathis.

Aside from the Jorge Posada-Jose Molina switch, there were no changes in the Yankees' lineup.

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Scioscia scoffed at the notion Yankees manager Joe Girardi has pushed this week that the longtime skipper who led Los Angeles to the 2002 World Series title should be considered "the face of the Angels."

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Joked Scioscia: "That's an ugly look."

The Angels made just one error in their division series sweep of Boston, then made three here Friday night to tie their season high. . . . Sabathia has walked just one batter in 14 2/3 innings in this postseason. . . . Friday's game was just the second in 84 here this season that neither team homered. It also happened in a 3-0 interleague win by the Washington Nationals on June 18.

e-mail: mharrington@buffnews.com