For the fourth time in five seasons, the Angels captured a division crown, clinching with their 4-2 victory over the Yankees and the Texas Rangers’ loss in Seattle, which was played on the scoreboard as shadows settled over the park. Thousands of fans stayed to watch, chanting the first name of the beaming team owner, Arte Moreno, and then roaring as the players romped around the field.
There will be no such joy in the Bronx this season, not with the Yankees buried in fourth place in the A.L. East with only 16 games left. After losing five of the last seven games on this trip, the Yankees embark on an awkward 10-day sendoff to proud old Yankee Stadium.
“If guys think we’re out of the playoffs, I would hope they’d play for some pride,” said the starter Andy Pettitte, whose second-half decline continued. “We’re getting paid an awful lot of money to do a job. I would hope that would never come into account, no matter how far out we are.”
While nobody questioned the Yankees’ effort, the results have been dismal. The Yankees managed four lonely singles against Dustin Moseley and four relievers. Moseley came into the game with a 7.90 earned run average but worked five efficient innings. Francisco Rodríguez finished with his 56th save, one shy of tying the single-season record.
“Every day, we try to figure it out,” said Johnny Damon, who is 3 for his last 30. “We know every pitcher we face is going to come at us with his stuff, and they should, because we definitely should be a much better team than we’ve showed this year.”
One of the many disappointments has been Pettitte, who dropped to 13-13. He is in line to start the Yankee Stadium finale on Sept. 21 and said he is intrigued by the idea of pitching at the new park. Yet he knows that alone is not a strong enough reason to keep pitching.
“I don’t want to just play to go to the new stadium,” he said. “I want to feel like I’m one of the horses, and I don’t know if I can pitch if I don’t really feel like I can be that.”
The decision is not all Pettitte’s; the Yankees would have to make him an offer, and it certainly would be for less than the $16 million he is making this season. Pettitte is no longer a top-of-the-rotation starter, at least not judging by his second half.
Usually a strong late-season pitcher, Pettitte is 1-6 with a 6.50 E.R.A. in his last nine starts. His distracted off-season, when he found himself embroiled in the Roger Clemens steroids saga, may be taking its toll on his stamina.
“I’ve got a few more nicks and bruises than I normally would,” Pettitte said. “I don’t feel quite as good as I felt last year down the stretch, but I can throw the ball and I ought to be able to get guys out, and I’m not doing that.”
Pettitte threw 100 pitches Wednesday but lasted only four and two-thirds innings, allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned). He held a 2-1 lead in the fifth with two out, the bases loaded and a 1-2 count on Robb Quinlan. Then the game turned.
Quinlan flicked away a breaking ball to stay alive, then ran the count full and drilled a single to left field. The runners were off, and the familiar Angel Stadium chaos started swirling around the Yankees.
Two runs scored easily, and a wild throw by Xavier Nady brought another scampering home. The Angels led by 4-2, and Pettitte was gone after walking the next hitter.
It was the second time in four starts that Pettitte failed to last five innings. He has pitched well at times and lost, and while Manager Joe Girardi made excuses for him — “It’s not like he’s getting hammered,” Girardi said — Pettitte has allowed 74 hits in his last 54 innings.
That is not what the Yankees expect from Pettitte, or what he expects from himself. If Pettitte returns, both sides will have to believe he can somehow improve.
“I want to make sure I can give the organization what I want to give them,” Pettitte said. “I want to perform the way I’m used to performing.”
Few of the Yankees have done that this season. The result is a team that is trudging to the finish at a time when others are celebrating.
INSIDE PITCH
Robinson Canó, who went 0 for 4 Wednesday, has not drawn a walk since Aug. 20, a span of 79 plate appearances. His on-base percentage has dropped to .295. ... The Yankees’ Iván Rodríguez and the Angels’ Torii Hunter began serving two-game suspensions for their fight here Monday night. Rodríguez does not catch Andy Pettitte, so he was not scheduled to play on Wednesday anyway. Another Yankee, reliever Edwar Ramírez, is still awaiting a hearing on the three-game suspension that he received on July 31.
