Yankees, Angels continue fine form

27 Jun 2012 01:51:03

The New York Yankees held off a fast-finishing Cleveland Indians to win 6-4 and continue their brilliant form in MLB on Tuesday.

The Yankees recorded their 14th win from their last 17 matches with the American League triumph, which was largely thanks to Phil Hughes' eight shutout innings.

Hughes' efficient pitching kept the Indians scoreless until he was replaced by struggling reliever Cory Wade, who conceded four runs in the last from four hits, largely due to Jose Lopez's three-run homer.

But it mattered little as the good work done by Nick Swisher, who scored a double, and Hughes allowed the Yankees to win again.

A bizarre subplot to the match saw Dewayne Wise awarded a catch that he actually spilled in the seventh inning.

Trailing 4-0 at the time, Wise charged after Jack Hannahan's foul ball and leapt into the stands in left field to make the catch.

Despite having control of the ball at one stage, the impact of Wise falling into the stands meant he spilled the effort, but it was judged good by third-base umpire Mike DiMuro, much to the bemusement of the Cleveland players.

The win sees the Yankees move to a 45-28 season record, which is the best in the entire league.

In other American League fixtures, the Los Angeles Angels notched a season-high 17 hits as they defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3.

Albert Pujols, Peter Bourjos, Mark Trumbo and John Hester hit home runs for the winners, who have now triumphed in 12 of their last 13 matches on the road.

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 thanks to a late flurry, while the Texas Rangers edged the Detroit Tigers 7-5 and the Chicago White Sox pipped the Minnesota Twins 3-2.

The Kansas City Royals fought back from 2-0 down to overcome the Tampa Bay Rays 8-2 and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2.

In the National League, the St Louis Cardinals won their fifth match in a row, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-2.

Yadier Molina hit a three-run homer in the victory, continuing the struggles for the Marlins who have dropped eight of their last nine matches.

Another team who are battling this season are the Philadelphia Phillies, but they made it two wins in a row with a 5-4 success against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds edged the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 and the Atlanta Braves hammered the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-1.

The Chicago Cubs came from behind to defeat the New York Mets 5-3 while the Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres by the same scoreline.

Washington had a big win, with the Capitals thrashing the Colorado Rapids 12-5, helping them extend their advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League.

The Dodgers were defeated 2-0 by the San Francisco Giants.