Angels’ Pineiro overcomes knockdown to beat Brewers

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Right-hander Joel Pineiro shook off a first-inning collision with Milwaukee’s Jim Edmonds to give the Angels four strong innings in a 10-5 spring training rout of the Brewers on Friday.

After a five-run Angels first inning punctuated by Bobby Abreu’s two-run, opposite-field home run, Edmonds came to bat with one out in the bottom of the inning and hit a slow roller between the mound and the first-base line. Pineiro raced over to field the ball but when he went to tag Edmonds, the former Angel ran into him, clipping Pineiro just below the right eye with the bill of his batting helmet.

‘It happened so quick. As soon as I came up he was there,’ said Pineiro, who held a bag of ice to his face after leaving the game. ‘As the runner, he had his head down.’

After laying face-down along the base line for several seconds, Pineiro chose to stay in the game and wound up retiring the first seven Brewers in order. He left after throwing 64 pitches over four innings, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out four.

‘A good sinker,’ he explained. ‘I was getting ahead in the count. It felt good. I was attacking the strike zone.’

As for the collision, Pineiro absolved Edmonds, a former teammate in St. Louis.

‘There was no intention. He said ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,’ ‘ Pineiro said. ‘It’s part of the game. Everything’s cool.’

The Angels also got a splendid outing from closer Brian Fuentes, who came on for Pineiro in the fifth inning and, after giving up a leadoff single, struck out the side, giving him eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

At the plate Torii Hunter added a pair of hits and Kendry Morales had a walk, a single and a long home run, his second of the spring, to lead a 15-hit attack. Morales also scored twice.

-- Kevin Baxter