ANAHEIM, Calif. -- There had to be a reason the Los Angeles Angels traded Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers this past offseason. He was so popular among his teammates in the clubhouse and so consistently good on the field.

Andrew Heaney was that reason, and Tuesday night at Angel Stadium he gave his club a glimpse of what could be a successful career, holding the New York Yankees to two hits over seven innings in the Angels' 2-1 victory.

It was just the second big league start of the season for the 24-year-old lefty, who was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on June 24. The only run he allowed came on a home run from first baseman Mark Teixeira in the second inning. It was Heaney's first big league win after six starts, five of which came with the Marlins last year.

"It feels great," Heaney said. "It was my sixth or seventh start and eventually I wanted to get it done. It's something to be proud of, that you're helping your team win."

Heaney had a good start his first time out with the Angels last week, but got a no-decision after giving up one run and four hits in six innings against the Astros.

"He did all the things you try to do when you put together a game plan," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He opened up both corners, changed speeds well, mixed in a slider and changeup, and really just kept them off balance all night."

The Angels offense didn't do much with Yankees starter Ivan Nova, but back-to-back home runs by first baseman Albert Pujols and shortstop Erick Aybar in the sixth were enough to help the Angels win their fourth in a row.

At 41-37, the Angels are four games over .500 for just the second time this season. With the loss, the Yankees are also 41-37.

Heaney (1-0) was in control the entire evening, striking out seven and never letting the Yankees put more than one runner on base in any inning. He also got key double-play grounders in the sixth and seventh innings.

"He's got some angle to him, where it looks like he's going to be able to get in on right-handers and be somewhat difficult on left-handers with the sweeping breaking ball," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Time will tell as you go around the league a couple times and people see you, but the young man's got a good arm and is off to a good start."

Nova (1-1) avoided early trouble, getting outs in big situations. He gave up five hits in the first three innings, and the Angels were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position through five innings.

But in the sixth, the Angels went deep twice. For Pujols, it was his 13th homer of the month, tying the club record for home runs in any month (Mo Vaughn, May of 2000; Tim Salmon, June of 1996). It also was Pujols' American League-leading 24th homer of the season, and 544th of his career, three shy of tying Mike Schmidt for 15th place on the all-time list.

"I think we're seeing Albert at his best," Scioscia said. "We're seeing what he did in St. Louis year after year and he's found that groove. Especially with no protection behind him, he's manager to be incredibly productive."

The tie-breaking blow was struck by Aybar, his homer over the center-field fence his second of the year.

"He surprised me hitting that ball to center," Scioscia said. "That's a little guy hitting the ball a long way."

Nova gave up the two runs on eight hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.

"He left a fastball up to Pujols and left a fastball middle-down to Aybar, and they hit 'em both out," Girardi said. "I thought he pitched a pretty good ballgame, he got out of some jams, but he made a couple mistakes in the sixth inning.

Joe Smith (eighth inning) and Huston Street (ninth inning, 23rd save) finished it off for the Angels.

NOTES: Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez entered the game having hit safely in 11 of 12 games, batting .381 (16-for-42) with three homers, 13 RBIs and a .481 on-base percentage during that stretch. He wound up going 0-for-4 Tuesday. ... Angels RHP Joe Smith, typically manager Mike Scioscia's eighth-inning reliever, began the night with a major-league-leading 21 holds. ... Yankees RHP Dellin Betances struck out 53 of his last 110 batters faced through Monday. He led all major league relievers with 62 strikeouts. ... The Yankees began the night with the majors' biggest home/road split in scoring runs. They average 5.77 runs per game at Yankee Stadium, 3.86 on the road. ... New York RHP Adam Warren was moved to the bullpen in a move that many expected after one turn through a six-man rotation. ... The Angels are 26-0 this season when holding their opponent to two runs or fewer.