Angels win, 4-2, and clinch AL West title

The Angels are once again champions of the American League West.

Soon after defeating the New York Yankees, 4-2, they retreated to their clubhouse this afternoon and turned into huge Seattle fans, watching the Mariners hold on to defeat the Texas Rangers, 8-7.

That eliminated the Rangers, giving the Angels their fourth division title in five years.

Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 56th save, moving him to within one of Bobby Thigpen's single-season record of 57 saves, set in 1990 for the White Sox.

Rodriguez struck out Hideki Matsui with runners on first and third to end the game, and utility man Robb Quinlan provided the key hit for the Angels, a two-run single during a three-run fifth inning that erased a 2-1 deficit.

Starter Dustin Moseley, filling in for the injured Jered Weaver, survived a rocky first-inning to go five innings, allowing two runs and three hits, striking out six and walking three, to gain the win.

After Moseley departed, the Angels sent out a quartet of power arms that bore a striking resemblance to the team's dominant bullpen of 2002, when Ben Weber, Brendan Donnelly, Rodriguez and Troy Percival helped fuel the Angels' World Series run.

Kevin Jepsen, with a fastball that hit 97-mph on the Angel Stadium speed gun, retired Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez in order in the sixth.

Fresh off his stint with the U.S. team in Beijing, the right-hander showed the kind of live arm and stuff that will make him a very viable candidate for struggling reliever Justin Speier's playoff roster spot.

Jose Arredondo came on for the seventh, and after walking Jason Giambi to open the inning, the right-hander retired the next three batters, two by strikeout, to lower his earned run average to 1.38.

Setup man Scot Shields retired the side in order in the eighth, two by strikeout, and Rodriguez, after allowing a two-out walk to Giambi and a bloop single to right-center by Xavier Nady, whiffed Matsui on a changeup.

Trailing, 2-1, the Angels loaded the bases against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte with no outs in the fifth on singles by Gary Matthews Jr., Garret Anderson and Vladimir Guerrero.

It appeared the Angels would squander the opportunity when Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales both took called strike threes, on a pair of pretty pitches that both caught the outside corner.