A little over a month earlier, the Yankees acquired starting pitcher Denny Neagle from the Cincinnati Reds for a package headlined by former top prospect Drew Henson. The early returns were mixed. Neagle averaged nearly eight innings per start in his first four outings in pinstripes, highlighted by a one-run complete game against Tampa Bay.

And then… woof. First, Seattle tagged him for seven runs in 5.2 innings. Then, the Angels put more runs on him (six) than he recorded outs (five). Five days later, he faced the Angels again, this time in New York. Luckily, Good Neagle showed up and he avenged the beatdown from five days prior.

August 17: Yankees 6, Angels 1 (box score)

Record: 66-51, .564 (4 GA)

Early, it looked like “déjà vu all over again,” as Yankee legend Yogi Berra might have said. Neagle put two runners on in the first before escaping. In the second, things looked even more dire. A double, a hit batsman, and a single loaded the bases with only one out. But then, Darin Erstad hit into one of the wilder double plays you’ll see. The rare 9-2-3 allowed Neagle to escape unscathed. It was merely the first Angels TOOTBLAN of the night.

Perhaps bouyed by that escape, the Yankee bats came alive starting in the home second as Glenallen Hill went yard to put New York up 1-0. The following frame, they doubled that lead on a Bernie Williams sacrifice fly. That genuinely looked like it would have been enough offense the way Neagle was pitching (it was, in point of fact).

But after being held down a couple of innings, the Bronx Bombers kept… bombing. First, David Justice launched an absolutely titanic two-run shot down the right field line, hitting the foul pole high up in the upper deck. Later that inning, Luis Sojo clubbed a solo home run of his own, putting the Yankees up 5-0.

The Angels’ last chance at getting to Neagle ended the same way as one of their earlier rallies – with bad baserunning. With runners on first and third, Troy Glaus ripped a ball down the third base line. Scott Brosius laid out and speared the ball, saving at least one run. Brosius surveyed the field and saw Erstad, who’d advanced to second, way too far off the bag. Brosius fired to second and Erstad was tagged out. From there, Mike Stanton came on and notched the final out.

Neagle’s final line: 6.2 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 3 K. Nice bounce back performance against a team that had laid the lumber to him only days earlier.

Justice drove in his third run of the game in the home seventh, this time via a sacrifice fly. The Angels managed to avoid the shutout with a solo home run in the ninth off Jason Grimsley. Grimsley finished them off with minimal drama, however, wrapping this one up.

All told, this was a pretty drama-free affair, especially after Neagle escaped that second-inning jam. The win left the Yankees up four games on the Red Sox, who held down second place in the American League East. Meanwhile, I think it is fair to say David Justice was enjoying his time in New York. This was his 40th game in pinstripes and in that quarter-season, he had 11 HR, 34 RBI, a .643 SLG, and a 1.067 OPS. That trade worked out nicely. And Justice was nowhere near paying dividends.