By Joe Haakenson, AngelsWin.com Contributor -
APRIL 16, 2002
GAME 13 - RANGERS AT ANGELS
ANAHEIM -- First, Darin Erstad used his head. Then, he used
his bat.
After nearly taking down the outfield fence with his head in
an attempt to make a catch in second inning, Erstad lined a two-run double in
the bottom of the 10th inning to overcome a 5-4 deficit and give the Angels a
6-5 win over the Texas Rangers Tuesday night before 15,385 at Edison Field.
The Rangers had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th on
an RBI double by Rafael Palmeiro, which set up the bottom of the inning. With
one out, Jose Nieves reached on an infield single off Rangers closer John
Rocker.
David Eckstein followed with a walk, which brought up
Erstad, who lined a 0-2 pitch into the right field corner, scoring both baserunners
to win it. Erstad had never faced Rocker before Tuesday.
''He has great stuff and he throws hard, but he's struggled
with his command,'' Erstad said of Rocker. ''I'm just locked in to an area and
hope he throws it there, because you can't cover the whole plate with a guy
like that.''
Angels starter Aaron Sele struggled early but made it
through 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and eight hits. His early troubles
also made it a busy night for Erstad.
In the second inning Frank Catalanotto sent a pitch from
Sele over Erstad's head in straight-away center. Erstad, though, never slowed
down in trying to make the catch and ran into the fence head-first.
By the time the right fielder Salmon retrieved the ball and
threw it in, Catalanotto had a triple and Erstad had a headache. The very next
batter, Rusty Greer, hit a Sele pitch into the left-center field gap. Erstad
made a diving attempt but missed and Greer had an RBI double.
Erstad's hard work finally paid off in the next inning when
Mike Lamb hit a rope to right-center, where Erstad made a spectacular diving
catch.
''I was born with the instinct to catch the ball, it's what
I do,'' Erstad said. ''I don't worry about what steps I have to take, just
catch the stinking thing.''
He came up empty in the second inning, other than a face
full of fence, impressing his new teammate on the mound.
''It's not what I think of him, it's what Erstad thinks of
me after I tried to kill him,'' Sele said. ''The guy runs through walls for
you.''
Said Erstad: ''I'd do that every day for him. It's better
than going 0 for 4 like I used to when I faced him.''
Erstad said his neck is a little stiff and he has a cut on
the bridge of his nose as well as a strawberry on his right knee.
''That's what it's all about,'' he said. ''You live for
these games.''
The Angels went most of the way without third baseman Troy
Glaus, who left the game after three innings because of a problem with his
contact lenses. Likewise, Rangers right fielder Kevin Mench, playing in place
of the injured Juan Gonzalez, might have had a problem seeing the scoreboard in
the first inning.
The Angels trailed, 3-2, in the bottom of the first and had
Garret Anderson on second with one out when Salmon hit a fly ball to Mench, who
thought it was the third out.
As Anderson tagged at second, Mench faked a throw to the
stands, then flipped the ball to first-base umpire Alfonso Marquez, who had run
to shallow right field. The ball hit Marquez and fell to the ground as Anderson
scored.
''We were all yelling, 'Throw it in the stands, throw it in
the stands!' '' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
Mench, who made his major league debut last week, had
another embarrassing moment in the sixth inning when he lined a single to right
field then tripped over his own bat. However, he was able to get up and
scramble to first base in time.
Sele, winless in his first two starts with an ERA of 9.90,
could not have started out much worse. His fourth pitch of the game was a
three-run homer by Alex Rodriguez, which prompted this response from a fan in
the upper deck: ''Go back to Seattle, Sele. They need help losing.'' Sele,
though, settled down and didn't allow the Rangers to score after the second
inning.
''Any time the team wins, as a starting pitcher you can live
with it,'' Sele said of his performance.
NOTEBOOK
ANAHEIM -- The Angels got some much-needed good news Tuesday
regarding Troy Percival, who has been out since April 2 with a strained muscle
in his right side.
Not only did Percival throw at 100 percent during a
simulated game Tuesday afternoon, but he'll rejoin the active roster on
Thursday, one day earlier than he expected.
''I knew I was eligible to come off April 18, but I've been
thinking that was Friday,'' said Percival, who recorded a save in his only
appearance this season.
The Angels considered sending Percival to Single-A Rancho
Cucamonga to throw in a rehab game, but Percival said there is no need.
''I was throwing 94-96 (mph), my breaking ball was good and
I actually threw a couple of changeups,'' Percival said of his 15-pitch effort.
''My velocity is like that at the beginning of every season, and it works its
way up to the upper 90s as we get further into the season.''
Though Percival deemed himself fit to rejoin the team,
manager Mike Scioscia preferred to take the cautious approach.
''Depending on how he comes out of it (today), he's ready to
pitch in a game,'' Scioscia said. ''He was hitting his spots well and his
pitches were sharp.''
In Percival's absence, Al Levine was 3 for 3 in save
opportunities. He'll go back to his eighth-inning role.
''This should help the starters because there's not as much
pressure to go as long,'' Percival said. ''Go six quality innings, and we've
got (Dennis) Cook for the seventh, and Al for the eighth. It just shortens the
game.''
*
For the second game in a row, second baseman Adam Kennedy
was not in the starting lineup because the opposing team had a lefty pitching.
In Sunday's game, it was Oakland's Barry Zito. Tuesday it was the Rangers' Doug
Davis.
Kennedy began the night hitting .200 overall and .200 (1 for
5) against lefties this season. Jose Nieves, batting .111 entering the game,
started at second in Kennedy's place.
''Right now at this juncture you have to look short-term and
get through the rough spots,'' Scioscia said of the lineup. ''You can adjust
when you need to, but you have to deal with the situation you have.''
*
Bench coach Joe Maddon left the team to be with family in
Hazelton, Penn. following the death of his father. Maddon is expected to rejoin
the team on the upcoming road trip.
