Los Angeles @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 5, 2011 ) NY Yankees 5, LA Angels 3

THE STORY: A 5-2 road trip would be cause for celebration for almost any team. That’s not the case with the New York Yankees, who open a six-game homestand by hosting the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night in the first of a three-game series. New York had won the first five games of the road swing to inch into first place in the American League East, but losing the final two games – particularly at the hands of bitter rival Boston – took some luster off the accomplishment. Like the Yankees, the Angels are sitting just off the division lead. Unlike New York, Los Angeles likely has to win its division to reach the postseason.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSW (Los Angeles), WWOR (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Dan Haren (12-6, 2.81 ERA) vs. Yankees RH A.J. Burnett (8-9, 4.54 ERA).

Haren has been spectacular in his last three outings, going 2-0 with a 1.09 ERA. He shackled Minnesota on one run on five hits last time out and limited Detroit to a run on five hits in his previous start. The 30-year-old Haren is 4-1 with a 3.78 ERA in eight career starts against the Yankees. Derek Jeter is batting .318 (7-for-22) against him and Mark Teixeira has taken him deep three times in 26 at-bats.

The Yankees switched to a six-man rotation last week, and Burnett has emerged as the unquestioned weakest link. Not only is he winless (0-3) in his past six starts, but Burnett could not make it through five innings last time out despite being handed a 12-run lead against the White Sox. He is 2-2 with a 4.60 ERA in seven starts vs. the Angels. Vernon Wells is batting .400 (8-for-20) with three homers and six RBIs against him.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (69-44): An eight-game winning streak had propelled New York into the AL East lead, but ace CC Sabathia was bombed on Saturday and closer deluxe Mariano Rivera blew a save on Sunday as the Yankees dropped a game behind the Red Sox. New York averaged nine runs per game in the first seven games of the winning streak before being held to nine runs total in the series vs. Boston. Curtis Granderson is sitting at 28 homers after failing to go deep in 11 games. Veteran DH Jorge Posada, batting .230, has been benched. He hasn’t homered since June 29.

ABOUT THE ANGELS (63-52): Los Angeles managed to take two of three from Seattle over the weekend despite scoring only four runs. The Angels are a season-high 11 games over .500 and own the best record in the AL (31-16) since June 13. Rookie Mark Trumbo is 7-for-15 with two homers and five RBIs during a four-game hitting streak. He leads the teams in homers (22) and RBIs (63). Torii Hunter is 12-for-23 during a six-game hitting streak, but Bobby Abreu is 1-for-20 in his last six contests to drop his batting average (.253) to its lowest point since May 17.

FINAL PITCH: The Angels historically give New York fits on the Left Coast, but they are just 3-14 in their last 17 meetings at Yankee Stadium.