They’ll Settle Things Later

NEW YORK — When the Angels and New York Yankees were done sparring -- physically and verbally -- for three sometimes soggy, occasionally intriguing and often tension-filled games, it was difficult to draw many conclusions from a series that pitted two teams with World Series aspirations.

The Yankees, behind solo home runs by Ruben Sierra, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams off right-hander John Lackey, beat the Angels, 7-4, on Thursday in front of 41,089 at Yankee Stadium to win two out of the three games.

But how could this series be a true indication of how these teams measure up when the Angels played without injured center fielder Garret Anderson, designated hitter Tim Salmon, first baseman Darin Erstad and reliever Brendan Donnelly for three games and without slugger Troy Glaus on Thursday?

The Angels, with lineups featuring Chone Figgins, Jeff DaVanon, Casey Kotchman, Shane Halter and Alfredo Amezaga, extended a star-studded Yankee team, which includes Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, to 10 innings before losing, 8-7, in Tuesday night’s rain-delayed opener.

The Angel junior varsity Bronx-bombed the Yankees on Wednesday night, 11-2, and put another scare into the Yankees on Thursday when they loaded the bases with two outs before closer Mariano Rivera struck out Halter to end the game.

“We’re not discouraged at all,” said Lackey, who gave up six runs and 10 hits Thursday and suffered his first loss since April 21. “They have a tough lineup to pitch to, and you have to be dialed in, one through nine. But we’re not intimidated by any means.

“We have a good lineup ... when everyone’s here, I guess. Even with so many guys out, we still played a decent series. We had a good chance to win the first game and battled them today. I think they know they’ll be in for a battle later on.”

The Yankees will be in Anaheim for a three-game series beginning Tuesday, and there’s a chance Salmon and Donnelly could return by then. But Glaus, Erstad, the No. 2 hitter, and Anderson, the cleanup hitter and most valuable player the last three years, will be out.

“Both of us have our sights set on big things,” Angel second baseman Adam Kennedy said. “Hopefully we can get some of our big guys back on the field and start playing better.”

They’ll need some of their little guys to start playing better too. Shortstop David Eckstein went 0 for 4 Thursday and is now hitless in his last 19 at-bats and five for 43 in his last 11 games, a slump that has dropped his average from .280 on April 24 to .220. It also could drop him out of the leadoff spot when the Angels resume their six-game trip in Baltimore tonight.

“We have confidence in Eck -- he’s played a big role in what we’ve done the past three or four years, and when he plays to his capabilities, he’s one of the best leadoff men in the league,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “But the hits aren’t falling for him.

“If we do make a move, it would be to take a little pressure off him. We might have to juggle things, but we don’t see his struggles continuing. The question is, how long can we go with him in a spot that’s important when we do have options, and how do we balance that with his confidence?”

Eckstein, who was also dropped from the leadoff spot last June, said he would understand if Scioscia replaced him with the speedy Figgins at the top of the order.

“The main goal is to win games,” Eckstein said.

One spot Scioscia doesn’t have to worry about is Jose Guillen’s. After Yankee right-hander Jon Lieber retired the first 11 batters of Thursday’s game, DaVanon and Vladimir Guerrero singled, and Guillen lined a three-run home run to right field to tie the score, 3-3.

Guillen is now batting .532 (25 for 47) with seven home runs and 21 runs batted in during the last 14 games. His bloop single to right off reliever Tom Gordon in the bottom of the ninth Thursday also put runners on first and third, and Kotchman greeted Rivera with an run-scoring single to cut the Yankee lead to 7-4.

Jose Molina struck out, and pinch-hitter Bengie Molina walked to load the bases, but Rivera blew a cut fastball by Halter to end the game and clinch the series for the Yankees, who have won 12 of the last 15 games.