The Yankees pulled to within 7-6 in the seventh when Mark Teixeira, the former Angel who was booed loudly before each at-bat, singled, Robinson Cano singled with two outs and Melky Cabrera capped an 11-pitch at-bat with an RBI single.
Kevin Jepsen walked Posada to load the bases, and left-hander Darren Oliver came on to face pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui, who sent a towering fly ball to right field that Abreu caught on the warning track to end the inning.
Lost amid the Angels' 13-hit attack was another shaky start by Saunders, whose first pitch was hit so sharply up the middle by Derek Jeter that the Angel Stadium radar gun clocked the liner at 105 mph. The ball was headed right for the Angels left-hander's face before Saunders ducked out of the way, his body contorting as he almost fell off the mound.
He never seemed to regain his bearings. The Yankees tagged him for three runs and three hits in the first and single runs in the second and fifth.
Saunders, an All-Star in 2008, has been roughed up for 18 runs and 22 hits, including seven home runs, in 14 innings of his last three starts.
He gave up Rodriguez's RBI double and Nick Swisher's two-run single in the first. Johnny Damon hit an RBI single in the second, and Rodriguez hit a solo home run in the fifth, the 21st home run -- most in the league -- Saunders has given up.
That's how many home runs Saunders allowed all last year in 31 starts.
Saunders opened the season with a 5-1 record and 2.66 earned-run average in seven starts. Since then, he is 3-4 with a 6.09 ERA in 11 starts.
"He says he's healthy, and he feels confident in his stuff," pitching coach Mike Butcher said. "The biggest thing is he's behind in counts. When you're 2-1 and 3-1, you have to use more of the plate to get back into counts."
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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com
