ANAHEIM, Calif. — There is a little bit of bark left in Derek Jeter.
On the night Jeter was honored by the Angels for a Hall of Fame career in the final lap, the Yankees’ captain coaxed a home run out of his bones.
Combined with the Angels’ treating the baseball like it was a live grenade, Jeter’s first homer of the season led the Yankees to a 9-2 victory that was witnessed by an Angel Stadium crowd of 44,083 that turned the spring evening into JeterFest filled with standing ovations and chants of “Derek Jeter, Derek Jeter.’’
The victory gave the Yankees two of three against the Angels, who committed two errors. The most costly miscue was made by right fielder Collin Cowgill who ran into Mike Trout while the center fielder was about to catch Jeter’s routine fly in the first inning. That opened the door for five Yankees runs, four of which were unearned against New Jersey product Hector Santiago.
Jeter, whose solo shot gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead, was presented with a pinstriped stand-up paddle board with the No. 2 on it before the game by the Angels. He also scored the 1,883rd career run with the homer, moving into 11th place on the all-time list.
Because 22 of Jeter’s 26 hits coming into the game were singles the home run was a bit of a surprise. The other four hits for the 39-year-old shortstop were doubles.
“It was good to get the first one,” said Jeter who went 2-for-5 and scored twice. “I am not catching Babe Ruth, but it was good to get one after Brian [Roberts] got one [Tuesday].’’
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In a strange coincidence, Roberts was using the dugout bathroom when Jeter homered one night after Jeter did the same while Roberts slugged his first homer as a Yankee.
“I came up the stairs and he was looking for me and I said ‘I was in the bathroom,’ ’’ said Roberts, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Vidal Nuno, who couldn’t go further than five innings in any of his three starts, was the beneficiary of the Angels’ generosity and Jeter’s muscle. In 6¹/₃ innings the left-hander, allowed a run and four hits. That should be good enough for Nuno to stay in the rotation.
“It was the first time my family came to see me pitch live baseball,’’ said Nuno, a native Californian, who had 50 family and friends on hand.
Once again, the Bombers were glad to see the left-hander Santiago, raised in Newarkand educated in Bloomfield.
On April 26 in The Bronx, Santiago allowed four runs and six hits in 4¹/₃ innings. In five career games against the Yankees, Santiago is 1-2 with a 7.72 ERA. Wednesday night, he gave up five runs (two earned), five hits, three walks and committed a throwing error.
Santiago seemed so glad to exit the game that he was off the mound before Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia got to the hill to remove Santiago, who is 0-6.
After giving up a run in the second, Nuno (1-0) retired 13 straight hitters. It was Nuno’s second big league win and helped the Yankees reset an over-worked bullpen that will have Thursday to rest because it’s an off day before the Yankees open a three-game series against the Brewers in Milwaukee Friday night.
As for Orange County baseball fans showering Jeter with love in what was likely his last game in Southern California, he was impressed.
“The fans have been awesome,” Jeter said. “All three games are something I will remember and appreciate.I have fond memories of playing in Anaheim.’’