Skinner Takes Pride in Taking Advantage : Baseball: As backup to All-Star Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland’s reserve catcher looks to make the most of every opportunity.

Joel Skinner’s strategy at the plate seems to be a simple one: Ignore a pitcher’s past glories, forget his notoriety and never consider him unbeatable.

“A guy’s got a ball in his hand and you try to hit it,” said Skinner, a backup catcher for the Cleveland Indians. “You take pride in what you’re doing, that’s all.”

Skinner had reason to be proud Sunday.

Playing in place of Sandy Alomar Jr., Cleveland’s All-Star catcher who was sidelined by a sprained left thumb, Skinner had a double off starter Mark Langston, a three-run home run off reliever Willie Fraser and scored twice to help the Indians defeat the Angels, 8-1, at Anaheim Stadium.

His homer to left, his first of the season, came on a 3-2 pitch in the third inning. It gave Indians a 7-1 lead.

“At that point in time, I was just trying to work myself back in the count,” said Skinner, who was playing in only his 25th game of the season.

“I was just trying to make contact. . . . Striking out has always been a thorn in my side. My ratio is not all that good.”

Going into Sunday’s game, Skinner, a former standout at Mission Bay High School in San Diego, had struck out 24 times in 66 at-bats. The last time the Indians met the Angels in Cleveland, July 1-2, Skinner struck out four times in five at-bats, but also received a bases-loaded walk.

The last time he faced Langston, on May 30 at Anaheim, Skinner drove in two runs with a single in a 4-2 Cleveland victory.

Skinner shrugged when asked about his success against Langston, whose record fell to 4-12 with the loss Sunday.

“He’s been a tough pitcher over my career,” said Skinner, 29, and a six-year veteran of the majors.

“I didn’t have much luck against him when he was in Seattle. I think coming into this year, I only had one or two hits against him.”

But Skinner was sharp Sunday. After Felix Fermin grounded to third to lead off the second inning, Skinner hit a breaking ball down the left-field line for a double. He scored on Jerry Browne’s single to give Cleveland a 3-1 lead.

Defensively, Skinner also played a part in an impressive outing by starter Greg Swindell, who improved to 6-5 after giving up six hits and one run in eight innings.

“He did real well,” Swindell said of his catcher. “I think with him and Sandy, we have two of the best catchers in the league. I tend to know him better than I know Sandy anyway, so it was nothing (to pitch to him). I never had to shake him off once.”

Skinner said it was just a matter of making the most of his opportunity.

“You just try to contribute,” he said. “You can’t go out and play for yourself--that’s a key part of being professional.

“The thing people don’t realize is that it’s a lot of fun to play. And when you get to, you make the most of it so you can keep playing.”