Yanks’ Damon bounces back in ALCS

NEW YORK (AP)—Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon(notes) struggled in the first round of the playoffs and was awful against the Los Angeles Angels this season.

He put all of that behind him Friday night.

Damon had two hits, scored twice and made a sliding catch in left during Game 1 of the AL championship series—reversing two disturbing trends for New York. He went 1 for 12 during the Yankees’ division series sweep of Minnesota and batted .121 (4 for 33) in eight regular-season games against the Angels.

Damon’s solid all-around effort in the ALCS opener helped the Yankees to a 4-1 victory over Los Angeles.

New York manager Joe Girardi insisted this week he still felt good about Damon despite his dreadful first round against the Twins. Damon’s only hit in the series was a third-inning single in the playoff opener. He struck out four times in Game 3—three against ex-teammate Carl Pavano(notes).

Damon responded by showing up at Yankee Stadium for extra hitting Tuesday and wasted no time getting off to a fast start against the Angels.

He singled to left in the first, moving Derek Jeter(notes) to third, and alertly made it to second when Juan Rivera’s(notes) throw went into the middle of the infield. He came around to score when Hideki Matsui’s(notes) two-out popup landed between third baseman Chone Figgins(notes) and shortstop Erick Aybar(notes).

Damon, who turns 36 on November 5, hit a leadoff double off John Lackey(notes) in the fifth and scored on Matsui’s double to give New York a 3-1 lead.

Finally, Damon robbed former Yankees teammate Bobby Abreu(notes) of a leadoff hit in the sixth with a nice grab on his sinking liner.

Batting in the No. 2 spot behind Jeter, Damon hit 24 homers this season to match his career high. But he hasn’t gone deep since Aug. 30 and is in the final year of his contract with the Yankees.