NEW YORK -- Carlos Beltran and Starlin Castro homered for the second consecutive game, supporting Michael Pineda's longest effort of the year as the Yankees defeated the Angels, 6-3, on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
Beltran hit a two-run homer and Castro added a solo shot off left-hander David Huff, who surrendered five runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. Austin Romine had an RBI single and Rob Refsnyder lifted a sacrifice fly to account for the other New York runs off Huff, the ninth different starting pitcher used by the Angels this season.
"Being able to get those runs early in the game, it's a big boost for our team," Beltran said. "I know we've been struggling to score runs lately, but the past couple of days we feel like we're putting up good at-bats. That's what it's all about."
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Pineda spun a sharp effort for the second consecutive start, blanking the Halos through the first four frames before Gregorio Petit stroked a run-scoring single and Kole Calhoun delivered a two-run homer in a three-run fifth. He completed a season-high seven innings as the Yankees won their seventh straight game at home against the Angels, dating back to last year.

"Michael can be dominant. When Michael is on, he can be really dominant," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I'm hoping this continues a roll for him."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Beltran's 'grand' slam: Clearing the fences for the second time in less than 24 hours, Beltran's two-run homer in the first inning marked the 1,000th extra-base hit of his career, making him the 38th player all time (and the fourth switch-hitter, joining Eddie Murray, Chipper Jones and Pete Rose) to reach the milestone. It was also Beltran's 407th career homer, tying him with Duke Snider all time. He has hit seven homers with 19 RBIs in his last 18 games.
"I guess I'm happy to be able to accomplish something like that," Beltran said. "It's something not many players have done. I guess the triples early in my career helped me get there." More >

Math is hard:Yunel Escobar seemingly forgot the amount of outs in the first inning. With two on and one out, the Angels' third baseman cleanly fielded a grounder from Chase Headley, who isn't necessarily a fast runner, and casually jogged to step on third base, thinking he had made the third out of the inning and ruining a chance for a double play. The next batter, Romine, drove in an additional run with a single. Escobar may have had enough time to record a double play had he hustled to the bag, but Angels manager Mike Scioscia felt there was only time to record the one out regardless and denied that Escobar lost count of the outs.
"He was only getting one out on that ball," Scioscia said of Escobar, who declined to speak with reporters after the game. "That ball was kind of chopped, and he took the out at third base." More >

Big Mike comes out firing: The Yankees have expressed confidence that Pineda can turn around an awful start to his season, and for the second straight outing, that faith was rewarded (aside from the fifth-inning missteps). It was a particularly good sign for Pineda that he set the Angels down 1-2-3 in the first inning, including strikeouts of Escobar and Mike Trout. Opponents came into Tuesday batting .500 (28-for-56) with five homers in the first inning against Pineda.
"I changed the angle of my arm a little," Pineda said. "The slider cuts better when I have a lower angle on my arm. That's one of the adjustments that I've made." More >

Not much doing: Besides a fifth-inning two-run homer from Calhoun, the top of the Angels' lineup was held in check all night. Their top five hitters -- Escobar, Calhoun, Trout, Albert Pujols and C.J. Cron, respectively -- went a combined 2-for-19 with four strikeouts and a walk. The Angels don't get enough production from the bottom third of their order to sustain struggles like that from their best hitters.
"We got into some good counts with him and made him work," Scioscia said of Pineda, "but when push came to shove, he threw some good sliders and got out of some jams. He had good velocity. I think we hit a couple balls hard without a lot to show for it. But when he needed to, he turned it up and used his slider well, too."

QUOTABLE
"He's leading the team right now. He's getting the big hits when we need the hits." -- Yankees catcher Austin Romine, on Beltran
"They say it's like riding a bike, but sometimes it's a little tougher than that. I'm still getting used to it. Hopefully next time out, I'll be better." -- Huff, a reliever earlier this season, when asked if he's still trying to re-adjust to being a starting pitcher
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Yankees are 2-0 during HOPE Week 2016 and have won 13 of their last 15 HOPE Week games. They are 25-10 (.714) during the event, dating back to 2009. More >

WHAT'S NEXT
Angels:Jered Weaver (5-4, 5.18 ERA) takes the ball for the third of a four-game series, with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. PT in the MLB Plus Showcase. Weaver has managed to throw six quality starts despite keeping his fastball in the low 80s. But the 33-year-old right-hander has an 8.71 ERA in five starts at the new Yankee Stadium.
Yankees: Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (6-2, 4.09 ERA) gets the call for New York on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. ET after taking a no-decision in his last start at Baltimore on Friday, ending a streak of wins in five consecutive starts dating back to May 7. He is 6-0 with a 3.35 ERA over his last eight starts.
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