Mark Teixeira had been awful this season against the Angels, so it's a good thing for him that his former team and the Yankees had a makeup game last night. Teixeira was a monster in the Yankees' 5-3 victory in The Bronx, crushing the Angels with three hits and two RBIs and setting up the game-winning rally in the eighth inning. The All-Star first baseman and MVP candidate singled, doubled and tripled, missing just the homer for the cycle. Teixeira spent the latter part of last season with the Angels after they acquired him from the Braves, and he wanted to return to Anaheim as a free agent. But the Yankees offered him $180 million and suddenly pinstripes looked like the way to go.
Teixeira opened the season a miserable 3-for-25 against the Angels heading into last night. Maybe the Angels were able to pitch well to him because they were so familiar with him, or maybe it was just coincidental. Either way, Teixeira didn't have many issues last night.
After singling in the first inning against Jered Weaver and flying out in the third, Teixeira crushed a two-run triple off the center-field wall in the fifth, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead and increasing his AL-leading RBI total to 111. As he left the batter's box on the triple, Teixeira seemed to be yelling at either Angels catcher Jeff Mathis or home plate ump Derryl Cousins, perhaps complaining that there was catcher's interference.
The Angels tied it at 3-3 in the top of the eighth, but in the bottom of the inning, Teixeira started the winning rally with a one-out ground-rule double to right.
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