Hot Chili Helps Angels Cool Off the White Sox

Chili Davis was glad to get away from the blustery chill of Candlestick Park, but he had a great time on four whirlwind tours of the bases at Anaheim Stadium on a balmy Tuesday evening.

There weren’t many players wearing an Angel uniform who didn’t have fun on this night--the Angels routed the White Sox, 15-6--but Davis put in a week’s worth of work in the first five innings. He had three hits, including a double and a homer, and drove in three.

The game had barely passed the midway point and Davis already had scored four times, moving around the bases in just about every way possible.

Here’s the rundown on Chili’s wild rides:

FIRST INNING--Davis lines a one-out double off the fence in left-center to score Mark McLemore. He tags up and advances to third on Wally Joyner’s fly ball to right and scores on a wild pitch by White Sox starter Jack McDowell.

THIRD INNING--Davis singles to right, sending McLemore, who had also singled, to third. Davis takes second on Joyner’s RBI single to left. Brian Downing walks to load the bases, and then Davis is the first member of Devon White’s welcoming committee, waiting at the plate after the center fielder crunches a grand slam that lands 10 rows up in the second deck in right.

FOURTH INNING--After Johnny Ray gets a one-out walk, Davis lines a home run to left. It’s Davis’ first chance to jog around the bases at Anaheim Stadium and he seems to be enjoying it.

FIFTH INNING--Davis hits one a mile . . . straight up. Pitcher John Pawlowski waits a few seconds, then points at third baseman Steve Lyons. Trouble is, the ball is coming down about 15 yards away from Lyons, right on top of first baseman Greg Walker. Walker looks at Lyons, then looks up, then drops to one knee and then drops the ball. Davis, who is halfway to second, has to turn around and race back to first when Pawlowski picks up the ball and fires to second. Davis beats Pawlowski back to the bag. He is awarded second when Pawlowski balks. He takes third on Joyner’s grounder to first and scores on Downing’s ground out to short.

Whew!

The Angels signed Davis as a free agent last December with the intent of spicing up their offense. And make no mistake, this Chili is hot.

He has had four multiple-hit games already this season and has four doubles. He is batting .355 and has five runs batted in.

“I’ve been going pretty good, but I don’t want to get too up now,” Davis said. “It’s early. We’ve got a long way to go. But it is nice to start quick. When you get ahead like this it makes it a lot easier to deal with those days when you don’t get any hits.”

The way he’s swinging the bat now, it’s difficult to imagine the switch-hitting right fielder in a slump.

“He’s been so hot, from the right side or the left side, right from the beginning,” Manager Cookie Rojas said. “His batting has helped everybody else pick it up. When the rest of the guys start hitting, this club will score a lot of runs.”

Despite all the line drives and the ensuing times on base, Davis had not scored and he had just two RBIs before Tuesday night. His uniform, with dirt smudges on all sides, was proof that he was deeply involved in the action in this one.

“It’s definitely more fun when you drive guys in and score yourself,” Davis said, smiling.

Of course, he always seems to be smiling these days. The former Giant smiles every time he dresses for an April night game and doesn’t have to put on long underwear. On this night, he didn’t even wear the traditional sleeves under his uniform.

“You don’t see me wearing those things here,” he said. “Uh-uh. No way. That’s what I wanted (when he left San Francisco). I like the park, I really like the guys here and, so far, the organization has proven to be a class one.

“I think I can be happy here if we win or lose.”

Chili is on the verge of bubbling over, he’s so content. And if his bat stays this hot, he may be able to revel in warm nights and a winning season too.