Yankees expected Angels to provide tough test

<br>ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ Count New York manager Joe Torre and shortstop Derek Jeter among those who aren't surprised the Anaheim Angels are giving the Yankees all they can handle. <br><br>As for

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ Count New York manager Joe Torre and shortstop Derek Jeter among those who aren't surprised the Anaheim Angels are giving the Yankees all they can handle.

As for the Angels, this is just what they expected.

``A lot of people are picking us to breeze through this round of the playoffs, but they're a tough team,'' Jeter said Thursday at Edison Field, where Game 3 in the best-of-five AL division series will be played Friday night.

``They don't strike out, every batter, one through nine, they beat you,'' Jeter said. ``They put the ball in play, move runners over, they have quality pitching and they don't beat themselves.''

The teams split the first two games at Yankee Stadium. New York rallied for four runs in the eighth inning for an 8-5 victory Tuesday night and the Angels scored three in the eighth and another in the ninth in coming from behind for an 8-6 triumph Wednesday night.

``It was a big step for us to bring our game and play it at a place like Yankee Stadium,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Torre is certainly impressed.

``We expected every bit of what we've seen,'' he said. ``They're playing the way they expect to play, the way Mike Scioscia expects them to play. Our pitching, I don't think, has been God-awful bad. We haven't been able to put them away. You have to give them credit.''

Mike Mussina (18-10) will pitch for the Yankees against Ramon Ortiz (15-9) in Game 3.

It was Mussina who pitched the Yankees to a 1-0 victory over Oakland last year after the Athletics won the first two games of their division series.

The Yankees won the final two after that en route to their fourth straight AL pennant.

``We expect to pitch much better,'' Torre said. ``But Moose and I go back. I only need one game to know his capabilities in an important game.''

Torre referred to the game at Oakland.

``Over his last half-dozen starts, he's been very, very good,'' Torre said. ``We certainly need a starter to get us late into the game. We have the ability to score runs, we just need somebody to shut the other team down.''

Neither Roger Clemens nor Andy Pettitte, who started the first two games for the Yankees, were as effective as usual.

The Angels have 29 hits in the two games including three homers by Troy Glaus and one each by Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson and Scott Spiezio.

``Glaus is as hot as you can get,'' Torre said.

David Wells, who has also pitched well recently, is scheduled to go in Game 4 on Saturday, perhaps against Jarrod Washburn, who started for the Angels in Game 1.

Whether or not Washburn pitches could depend on the outcome of Game 3; he goes if the Angels lose and rookie John Lackey gets the call if they win.

Ortiz gave up a big league-leading 40 homers this season, but Scioscia isn't concerned.

``I think one thing that really has encouraged us down the stretch is his ability to get into the zone earlier with all of his pitches _ and in some key games,'' Scioscia said. ``He's not intimidated by anything.''

New York second baseman Alfonso Soriano, hit in the back by Troy Percival's pitch in the eighth inning Wednesday night, was sore Thursday but intends to play in Game 3.

``It's bruised a little bit, but it's OK,'' Soriano said. ``I put a lot of ice on it last night and I'm OK.''

Scioscia realizes his team has a long way to go to win this series.

``We aren't raising any pennants saying, `We're here.' This is a constant effort,'' he said. ``We know what it's going to take to get to the level we want to get.''

The Angels have been one of baseball's least successful teams since they began as an expansion franchise in 1961, appearing in the playoffs only three times before this year and failing to win a postseason series.

The Angels, 24-21 against New York since 1998, will be playing their first postseason game in Anaheim since Oct. 12, 1986, when they were one out from advancing to the World Series before blowing a three-run, ninth-inning lead against Boston.

The Red Sox won 7-6 in 11 innings to cut the Angels' lead in the AL championship series to 3-2, then swept two games in Boston to win the pennant.

Torre was the analyst for Angels games on local television that year and became close with the late Gene Autry, who owned the team, and manager Gene Mauch.

``I felt so badly in '86, I think we all did, not only for Gene Autry but for Gene Mauch, who has gone through a long career,'' Torre said. ``I don't think there's any manager who ever knew any more baseball than Gene Mauch does _ still.

``I was in Chicago at the time of that Game 5 loss, and I just felt very badly for the Cowboy (Autry) and for Gene Mauch. I could still see it now, Reggie (Jackson) standing next to Mauch in the dugout waiting for the last out to be recorded. It wasn't to be,'' he said.