BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Having the New York Yankees' hottest hitter out of the lineup did not deter David Wells from posting his seventh win in his last eight decisions.

Derek Jeter went 3-for-4 and scored twice and Wells tossed 7 2/3 effective innings as the Yankees recorded a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Angels, who fell out of a three-way tie for first place in the American League West.

With Bernie Williams out of the lineup with a mild left hamstring strain, Wells (14-6) rebounded from a poor performance in his last meeting with the Angels, allowing two runs and eight hits.

"I felt a lot more comfortable tonight than in Seattle," said Wells, referring to his last outing, in which he allowed three runs in just 5 1/3 innings. "I kept the ball down, even with the breaking pitches. They were swinging at pitches below the knees, so that is a good sign."

"He was good," New York manager Joe Torre said. "His velocity was good, his location was good - most of the time. He got hurt a couple of times with 0-2 pitches. Other than that, his pitch count was so good, so we worked him into the eighth inning."

The portly lefthander, who struck out three without a walk, yielded five runs in just two innings - his shortest outing of the season - in Anaheim on August 3, but did not figure in that decision.

"They've got a good hitting team," Wells said. "They come at you. They've got some pesky hitters. They are a team not to take lightly, because they make good contact. They could put runs up on the board."

"He pitched well," Jeter said. "It was one of the quickest games we've been in all season. He kept the defense on our toes."

Williams, who shared last week's American League Player of the Week honors with Texas' Alex Rodriguez, is in the midst of a 13-game hitting streak. He set a franchise mark by recording hits in 11 consecutive at-bats, which was one short of the major league record.

Raul Mondesi replaced Williams in center field and picked up the slack by stroking a two-run single in the first inning to give the Yankees an early lead.

Rookie John Lackey (5-3) went the distance for Anaheim, surrendering four runs and 11 hits while walking one and striking out four. It was the first complete game of Lackey's major league career after the righthander tossed two for Class AAA Salt Lake earlier this year.

"They hit some balls hard and balls not so hard that found some holes," Lackey said. "I made some good pitches and they hit them a couple of times."

"They did some things better than us," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said. "They got a good-pitched game. (Lackey) pitched a good ballgame except for the first inning. Wells made some good pitches."

Steve Karsay pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

"We know that (closer Mariano Rivera) is a crucial part of the ball club," Karsay said. "When he comes back (from the disabled list), we want him back healthy and we want him 100 percent. So we hold the fort down until he comes back and play the situation of the game."

After Alfonso Soriano struck out, Jeter singled to center. Jason Giambi was hit by a pitch before Lackey fanned Jorge Posada for the second out. Robin Ventura drew a walk to load the bases for Mondesi, who stroked Lackey's first pitch into left to plate Jeter and Giambi for a 2-0 lead. Ventura ended a potentially big inning by getting thrown out at third trying to advance on the throw to the plate.

Jeter put New York ahead by three in third. After hitting a leadoff double, the All-Star shortstop moved to third on a single by Giambi before crossing the plate on Posada's double-play grounder.

Anaheim, which trails Seattle and Oakland by one game in the AL West, battled back, scoring runs in the fourth and fifth innings to draw within 3-2.

Darin Erstad opened the fourth with a double, but was erased trying to advance to third on Scott Spiezio's grounder. Garret Anderson stroked a single to right to put runners on the corners for Troy Glaus, who smacked a ground-rules double to left to plate Spiezio for the Angels' first run.

Wells buckled down, striking out Shawn Wooten and Benji Gil to avoid further damage.

"He just mixed up his pitches," Angels right fielder Alex Ochoa said. "I think his key pitch was the cutter today."

"He's made some adjustments in his delivery," Torre said. "As you can see, he looks a little different in the stretch position, trying to keep his weight back. The last couple of times he's done that, he seemed more comfortable."

With one out in the fifth, Ochoa launched an 0-1 offering over the right field wall for his first homer as an Angel. He was acquired from Milwaukee on July 31.

"It was a fastball away and I got a good swing on it," Ochoa said.

The Yankees capitalized on an Anaheim miscue in the bottom of the frame to increase their lead to 4-2.

Soriano led off with his 44th double of the season, the most by a Yankees' righthanded hitter since Joe DiMaggio also had 44 in 1936. Jeter reached on a bunt single, moving Soriano to third, and Anaheim catcher Bengie Molina's throw to first was off the mark and allowed Soriano to trot home.

The Angels posed a mild threat in the eighth. With two out, Spiezio ripped a double to left center, ending Wells' night. But lefthander Mike Stanton induced a groundout by Anderson to maintain New York's two-run advantage.