WHAT A RELIEF THIS IS : Krawczyk Has Angels Feeling Better About Bullpen

Cookie Rojas had seen enough. He stepped quickly out of the Angel dugout Sunday afternoon, approached the mound and motioned for rookie reliever Ray Krawczyk. Out went starter Willie Fraser, who had pitched well during his six-inning stay; in came uncertainty.

Three innings and another reliever later, the Angels had a 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. And the bullpen, beleaguered and maligned, had a small measure of vindication.

DeWayne Buice earned the save, the Angels’ first this season, and Krawczyk earned his fair share of compliments, most noticeably from Fraser, who knows his baseball manners.

“They’ve (the bullpen) struggled,” Fraser said, “but I saw what they could do in spring training. I knew they could turn it around. They showed what they could do (Sunday).”

Understand that the Angel bullpen hasn’t been for the squeamish these days. Just the other night, Rojas invited relievers Buice and then Donnie Moore to the mound, only to see an Angel lead and an apparent victory disappear in the ninth inning. And earlier last week, the Angels were betrayed twice by their bullpen.

The gruesome numbers entering Sunday’s game against the A’s:

--0-3 in save opportunities.

--13 earned runs allowed in the last 12 innings.

--3 home runs given up in the same duration.

--10 runs allowed in the last 5 innings.

--10 walks allowed in the last 11 innings.

“The way things have gone in the last couple of games, you kind of were on pins and needles,” Krawczyk said. “Now it’s a kind of break-the-ice type of thing. I’m sure now everyone will seem more relaxed.

“What happened today (Sunday) I’m sure will get us going.”

Fraser said he would have preferred to stay in the game, but a seventh-inning leadoff walk of A’s second baseman Mike Gallego brought Rojas from the dugout. The thinking was this: Fraser already had thrown 109 pitches. Also, this was Fraser’s first appearance since the final game of Freeway Series April 3. No use overextending him.

“Cookie’s been taking pitchers out when he thinks they’re getting the least bit tired,” Fraser said. “I had no problem with it.”

Good thing, too, because Rojas was going to his bullpen no matter what. The Angels had a 5-3 lead at the time and Rojas wasn’t about to take any chances.

“These guys can do the job,” he said. “They’ve done it before. They’re gonna get the ball. I mean, where are we gonna go? Are we gonna go to the stands? No, we’re gonna go to the bullpen.”

These have been scary journeys lately. Angel starters have left with leads and ended up with nothing. Just ask Mike Witt, who is probably short two victories because of the bullpen.

Sunday’s game was different. On Sunday, Krawczyk and Buice disposed of A’s with heretofore uncharacteristic ease. Krawczyk squeezed out of a seventh-inning jam and later allowed a home run by Mark McGwire, which made things interesting.

But the Angels also added a run in the inning and then sent Buice out to the mound in the ninth. All he did was strike out Tony Phillips, give up a line-hugging double to Carney Lansford and strike out Jose Canseco and Dave Parker to end the game.

Phillips was a challenge; those kind of hitters always are, Buice said. And Canseco?

“Big deal,” he said. “He’s just another out if I get him out. He’s a big swinger and I much prefer pitching (against) the big home run hitters. I can get more strikeouts that way. They swing real big and I can fool them much more than I can a Stan Javier or somebody who’s more a line drive, Punch-and-Judy hitter.

“McGwire, Canseco, Parker . . . there’s no doubt they can hurt you; they can kill you,” he said. “But if you do your job right, you can get them out. They’re all human. The big ones are more human than others.”

Buice said he relies on deception, preferably his forkball, which dives toward home plate when working well. He struck out Phillips and Canseco--looking--with fastballs. But with Parker, Buice said he returned to his favorite pitch.

“He’s left-handed and I like throwing to lefties,” Buice said. “I was trying to keep him off balance. I had a feeling he was looking for fastballs, so I just kept pounding it.”

Sure enough, Parker swung and missed at a series of forkballs. The Angels and Fraser had their wins and the bullpen had a day off from criticism.