A day after celebrating 2009 at Yankee Stadium, Javier Vazquez turned back the clock to 2004.
The Yankees starter got booed off the mound by 42,372 fans after surrendering four runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss to the Angels, falling to 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA in his return to pinstripes.
The slow start from Vazquez just reinforces the memory of how his first stint as a Yankee ended — with a dreadful relief outing to the Red Sox in a Game 7 loss of the 2004 ALCS low-lighted by a Johnny Damon grand slam.
Fans let Vazquez have it in the third inning after an RBI double by Bobby Abreu, and in the sixth when he was pulled from the game.
“I feel like it’s unfair because that was so long ago,” Vazquez said about the boos. “Like I’ve said plenty of times, I’m trying to concentrate on this year.”
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So far this year, Vazquez has looked very little like the pitcher the Yankees thought they were getting when they got him in a trade with Atlanta in December. His fastball lacked life and he failed to put hitters away once he got ahead in the count.
The Angels broke through with two runs in the third and added two more in the sixth. With Joel Pineiro baffling the Yankees batters with an assault of sinkers, that was all the Angels needed.
Vazquez left the mound with one out in the sixth to a chorus of boos. He allowed four runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
“His command is not as good as we’ve seen it at this point,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It will get better. [The Angels are] a pretty good-hitting club. . . . He had a hard time putting them away at times today and that can be the difference in the game.”
The bigger crisis for Vazquez may not be his command, but expunging the ghosts of ’04. Girardi acknowledged Vazquez needs to win a game in The Bronx to change the conversation.
“As soon as he can get a win here I think it will be best for all of us because fans . . . remember,” Girardi said. “His next start will be on the road. It would be nice to get him a win and on a roll.”
Vazquez knows the only tonic that will soothe Yankees fans is victories.
“It was a little disappointing,” Vazquez said. “It was the first game back. I don’t think they’re forgetting from ’04. Hopefully I’ll get some [wins] in the Stadium and they’ll forget that.”
Derek Jeter blamed the media for keeping the memory of 2004 fresh.
“If you keep asking questions about it then no [it won’t stop] because then we’ll still be talking about it,” Jeter said. “I mean, man, he gave up three runs [actually four]. That’s pretty much all you can say. I hope he gives up three runs every time he pitches.”
While Vazquez scuffled, Pineiro offered up a heavy dose of sinkers that kept the Yankees guessing all day. He allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. Eighteen of the 21 outs Pineiro recorded were either groundballs or strikeouts.
“When he’s throwing like he threw today it’s going to be tough,” said Jeter, who went 1-for-3 against him. “This is just one of those games where he was better than us. We really didn’t get anything going off of him. You tip your cap to him. He pitched well.”
The Yankees 3-4 hitters had a particularly bad day. Mark Teixeira went 0-for-4 to drop his average to .097 (3-of-31). Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, bringing his career average against Pineiro to .133 (4-for-30).
With Pineiro out of the game, the Yankees mounted a comeback attempt in the eighth, but it died at two runs when Jorge Posada struck out with runners on the corners against Kevin Jepsen.
brian.costello@nypost.com
How the runs scored
Angels third
Wood singled to left and stole second. Aybar singled to center, Wood scored. Abreu doubled to right, Aybar scored. Hunter flied out. Matsui struck out. Abreu was caught stealing.
Angels 2, Yankees 0
Yankees fifth
Cano singled to left. Posada grounded out to third, Cano to second. Granderson grounded out to first, Cano to third. Swisher tripled to center, Cano scored. Gardner grounded out to the pitcher.
Angels 2, Yankees 1
Angels sixth
Hunter doubled to center. On Vazquez’s wild pitch, Hunter to third. Matsui struck out. Morales doubled to center, Hunter scored. Aceves pitching. Rivera grounded out to third. Izturis singled to center, Morales scored.
Angels 4, Yankees 1
Angels seventh
With one out, Aybar singled to right. Abreu grounded out to the pitcher, Aybar to second. Hunter singled to left, Aybar scored.
Angels 5, Yankees 1
Yankees eighth
Gardner walked. Jeter infield single to shortstop, Gardner to second. Johnson singled to center, Gardner scored, Jeter to second. On Jepsen’s wild pitch, Jeter to third, Johnson to second. Teixeira grounded out to third, Jeter scored.
Angels 5, Yankees 3