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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Brian Roberts and Derek Jeter joked around the batting cage before the game at Angel Stadium, wondering which old guy would be the last to hit his first homer of the season. Even Roberts was a bit surprised to beat the captain in that competition, and he did it at a key moment for the New York Yankees. Roberts hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the ninth inning, and the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3 Tuesday night for just their second victory in seven games. Roberts connected with two outs against Ernesto Frieri (0-3), putting his first homer with his new club into the elevated right field stands. After the game, the ball was nestled in the locker of the longtime Baltimore infielder. "Never hit a homer in any other uniform, so Ill take it home," said Roberts, who also had an early RBI single. "I feel like Ive gotten a lot more comfortable. Sometimes, some things just click. Its been nice to get something going a little bit." After a slow start in pinstripes, Roberts is steadily improving at the plate, according to manager Joe Girardi. The Yankees unassuming replacement for second baseman Robinson Cano now has the same number of homers as Cano has hit for the Seattle Mariners this season. Alfonso Soriano had a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, and David Robertson pitched the ninth for his fifth save in an all-around encouraging effort by the Yankees. Hiroki Kuroda had his longest and best start of the season, allowing just one earned run and not walking a batter while striking out eight in 7 2-3 innings. The Japanese right-hander is winless in four starts, but he largely shut down the Angels. "When Kuroda pitched the way he did, you need to win those games," Roberts said. Mike Trout tripled and scored the tying run on Albert Pujols two-out single off Shawn Kelley (1-2) in the eighth inning for the Angels, who had won five of seven on their nine-game homestand. Erick Aybar and Trout drove in runs with consecutive sacrifice flies in the third inning for the Angels, but their combustible bullpen let them down again after eight solid innings by C.J. Wilson. Frieri had been pitching well since losing his job as the Angels closer, and manager Mike Scioscia isnt discouraged. "(Frieri) just made one mistake tonight," Scioscia said. "He just yanked one pitch to Roberts, but give Roberts credit. He was ready for it." The Angels couldnt reward Wilson, who yielded seven hits and struck out five in just his second non-winning start since April 1. Wilson hit Jeter with a pitch to open the eighth, and Carlos Beltrans seeing-eye grounder up the middle sent Jeter to third. Jeter was tagged out after Mark Teixeiras grounder, but Sorianos single to left easily scored Beltran. "This is a lineup that typically goes up there and swings for damage," Wilson said of the Yankees. "But today they made a concerted effort to put the ball in play and make contact. I didnt have a lot of strikeouts because they were just fighting pitches off and stuff. They did a really good job of that." Trout snapped an 0-for-12 skid with a two-out triple off the top of the right-field wall in the eighth, barely missing a tying homer. Trout has never gone more than 14 at-bats without a hit in his major league career, but he had something close to a slump when he struck out on a pitch in the dirt to end the fifth, stranding two runners. "We all know how good a hitter he is," Kuroda said through a translator. "At that moment (in the eighth), I tried to just attack him and see how it goes. I dont feel bad about it." The hit chased Kuroda, and Pujols worked a full count from Shawn Kelley before delivering a clean single to left-centre. NOTES: Jeter was serenaded with chants of his name and a standing ovation for the second straight night of his final regular-season series at the Big A. He reached base three times, getting the Yankees first hit in the third inning. ... Wilson has thrown at least 111 pitches in all seven of his starts this season. ... Kuroda is winless in his last 10 road starts. Mike Green Jersey . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes. Jonathan Bernier Jersey .Y. - Brooklyn Nets centre Brook Lopez has a strained lower back and will miss at least a week. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/j...bernier-jersey/. Campbell, playing on loan with Greek club Olympiacos, found the net with a left-footed shot in the 44th minute off a pass from second-half substitute Jorge Rojas to open the scoring at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica. Nicklas Lidstrom Jersey . The Blue Jackets announced the injury through their official Twitter account Friday afternoon. Gaborik, 31, has scored five goals and six assists in 17 games with the Blue Jackets in 2013-14. Alex Delvecchio Red Wings Jersey . Today, their baseball playing sons were reportedly traded for each other. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs dealt minor league outfield Trevor Gretzky to the Angels for catcher Matt Scioscia.Mexico, Croatia battle for place in knockout round (Live on TSN Radio 1050, TSN Radio 690, TEAM Radio 1410 at 4pm et/1pm pt) Mexico has reached the knockout round in each of the past five World Cups, and El Tri can extend that streak to six with a win or draw against Croatia at the Arena Pernambuco today in the final day of Group A play. Both teams beat Cameroon, but Mexicos 0-0 draw against Brazil is the difference between the sides, as Croatia fell 3-1 to the hosts in the opening match of the tournament. Much of the credit for Mexico getting a point against Brazil goes to goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who produced a number of fine stops to keep his team in the match. "Sometimes its our turn to catch the eye and other times its someone elses," Ochoa said following the game with Brazil. "Of course Id like to have less to do, but in my position youve got to be constantly alert, whether youre needed just once or loads of times. And thats what Ill keep training for." Ochoa made a pair of big saves to deny Neymar, while he reacted well in the final minutes to keep out a point-blank header from Thiago Silva. "He saved us today," Mexican winger Andres Guardado said of Ochoa. "Sometimes we had the feeling that, however many times theey went for goal, he wasnt going to let anything get past him.dddddddddddd" Ochoa will hope to be a bit less active on Monday, although Croatia enters the match full of confidence having handed Cameroon a 4-0 defeat last time out. After missing top forward Mario Mandzukic against Brazil because of suspension, the Bayern Munich forward returned to the fold against the African side and netted a pair of goals in the second half. Croatia was unlucky to lose 3-1 to Brazil in the opener as a questionable penalty decision handed the home side a 2-1 lead in the second half before Oscar scored a goal in stoppage time to cap the win. Unlike Mexico, Croatia must win Mondays game in order to advance to the round of 16 for the first time since 1998, and head coach Niko Kovac is expecting a great atmosphere. "The match against Mexico will be like a final," Kovac told Croatian television station HTV. "We have to get some rest, because a serious opponent awaits. Mexico are strong, but so are we. The Mexico players are very patriotic, just like us, and they have a great team spirit. They play some aggressive football with a lot of pressing. They are strong going forward, but also have some weaknesses in defense, like Brazil showed us." ' ' '