By Joe Haakenson, AngelsWin.com Contributor -
JUNE 2, 2002
GAME 53 - ANGELS
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Angels and Minnesota Twins finished their
weekend series with nothing lost and nothing gained, other than maybe a little
respect for each other.
The Angels held on for a 5-4 win Sunday afternoon before
18,657 at the Metrodome to gain a split in the four-game series against the
American League Central Division leader.
Angels starter Aaron Sele (5-3) went seven-plus innings to
get the win, getting help from the bullpen and support from the offense, which
included three hits each by Orlando Palmeiro and Garret Anderson.
Troy Percival threw a perfect ninth to finish it off for his
ninth save, and the Angels returned to Southern California having split the six
games on the trip to Kansas City and Minnesota.
During the Angels' hot stretch, the only team with a winning
record against them are the Twins, who have won four of seven.
``Any time you come away from here with a win, it's going to
give you a lift,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``We played a very tough
club. I hope they're saying the same thing about us. I think both clubs showed
neither club is going to quit.''
Sele has had trouble in the first inning this season, and he
found himself in a jam in the first on Sunday. He walked the first batter of
the game, Jacque Jones, and two outs later, walked Corey Koskie.
Torii Hunter followed with a hard grounder that ate up
shortstop Benji Gil, who made an error and loaded the bases. But Sele escaped
when second baseman Adam Kennedy made a nice play on David Ortiz's grounder up
the middle.
After Sele gave up a solo homer on the first pitch of the
second inning to Brian Buchanan, he found a groove. He didn't allow another hit
until A.J. Pierzynski's one-out double in the seventh.
``He locked himself in and found his (arm) slot,'' catcher
Jorge Fabregas said of Sele. ``He gained confidence as he went on. When he
doesn't feel confident, you could see him out there wondering at times. You can
see the frustration on his face and he becomes timid. But today he was more
aggressive. He finished his pitches strong.''
Sele gave up a season-high 11 hits in his previous start
against Kansas City, but Sunday he gave up a season-low three hits. The difference
for Sele was his command, particulary with his curveball.
``When he's executing his pitches, you see what he can do,''
Scioscia said. ``That's a good offensive lineup. One of the few mistakes he
made all day was the fastball to Buchanan. Aaron pitched a very effective
game.''
Said Sele: ``We mixed our pitches well and the guys played
outstanding defense. Any time you play in the dome crazy things happen, but the
guys played well out there.''
The Angels took the lead in the fourth inning on consecutive
RBI singles by Fabregas and Gil for a 2-1 lead. They increased their lead to
3-1 on an RBI double by Scott Spiezio in the fifth, and then 4-1 on an RBI
single by Palmeiro in the sixth.
The Twins rallied with a run in the seventh to knock Sele
out of the game, cutting their deficit to 4-2. But the Angels got a big run in
the eighth when Palmeiro tripled and scored on Darin Erstad's groundout.
Palmeiro was a home run short of the cycle.
In the bottom of the eighth the Twins got a two-run homer by
Doug Mientkiewicz off Dennis Cook. But that's as close as they got.
``It's good from our standpoint to win these close ones,''
Angels right fielder Tim Salmon said. ``We really haven't had much of a
challenge in the last month. `Challenge' isn't the right word, but we've played
well early in a lot of games and had big leads.''
NOTEBOOK
MINNEAPOLIS -- While on his rehab assignment having
recovered from thumb surgery, first baseman/DH Shawn Wooten strained a muscle
in his right side that will keep him out three to six weeks.
Wooten suffered the injury swinging the bat in Friday's game
for Triple-A Salt Lake. He was about a week away from joining the big league
club after missing all season because of the thumb injury suffered March 13 in
a spring training game.
``It's a big window because we don't know how long it's
going to be,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``But it's not something you mess
around with.''
Wooten led the team in hitting last season with a .312
average, but he missed the last month of the season because of surgery on his
wrist to repair cartilage damage.
``The last couple of years he's been banged up,'' Scioscia
said. ``Before this he's been healthy. He got hit with a couple things and you
can't do much about it. I don't think his history says he's absolutely injury
prone.''
The Angels have made do without Wooten's bat all season, but
Scioscia says the club was looking forward to having him back.
``When Woot's swinging well he can hit righties and
lefties,'' Scioscia said. ``He's an important part of the club. I wouldn't say
his role is filled. We have a lot of confidence in (Benji) Gil, but I it's not
like we won't miss Woot.''
Wooten was hitting .294 (5 for 17) during his rehab
assignment for Salt Lake.
*
The Angels finished the month with a record of 19-7, the
best month of May in the franchise's history. Overall, they are 31-22, fourth
best in the American League behind the Red Sox, Yankees and Mariners.
But the impressive record in May means little if the club
folds in September, like it has in past seasons. In 1995, '97 and '98, the
Angels led the division as late as August and September only to end up watching
the playoffs on television.
``It's always good when you're playing well, but at the same
time you have to maintain the outlook that it's only May,'' said right fielder
Tim Salmon, who has the longest tenure with the club. ``We can't lose sight of
the fact that we've got to keep playing this way for four more months. There's
a tendency at times when you're playing well to get complacent. We can't let
that happen.''
That might have happened in '95, when the Angels held an
11-game lead in early August only to blow the lead and lose a one-game playoff
to Seattle. That team had a lot of talent, but possibly some young players that
didn't know how to handle the early success.
Salmon says this year's team is different.
``We have enough young players coming into their own with
some veteran leadership,'' he said. ``But with these younger players there is a
sense of maturity. I don't see the immaturity of, `Hey, we're on top of the
world.' ''
*
