ANGELS : Abbott Shows That He’s a Triple Threat

Had Angel General Manager Mike Port known that Jim Abbott played first base in high school, maybe Port wouldn’t have made the Dave Parker trade.

Not with Abbott showing the power he did in the second inning of Monday’s game. The Angel left-hander lined a triple into the gap in right-center field between San Francisco Giant outfielders Willie McGee and Kevin Bass.

Abbott, who was born without a right hand, is one for three with a sacrifice in four spring training plate appearances since 1989.

“Well, we had a Size-54 jersey we’d have hated to waste,” Port said. “So I guess we’d have made the Parker deal anyway.”

Abbott enjoys taking his cuts, but he has no desire to take Parker’s job as the Angels’ designated hitter.

“It was fun, although I was a little winded by the time I got to third,” he said. “I’ve always taken pride in my swing.”

Abbott drove in the Angels’ second run and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 5,848 at Scottsdale Stadium.

He also had reason to be proud of his pitching. In four innings he gave up three hits, including a two-run homer by Kevin Mitchell, and was in the clubhouse when the Giants rallied for four runs in the eighth and defeated the Angels, 6-3.

Pitcher Scott Lewis, the prime candidate to replace Bert Blyleven in the starting rotation, took a 3-2 lead into the eighth inning. Successive singles by Greg Litton--off Lewis’ left leg--Willie McGee and Will Clark brought the Giants even and Mitchell’s sacrifice fly gave them a 4-3 lead.

Matt Williams was walked intentionally to bring up Kevin Bass, who lined the ball up the middle. Lewis leaped to spear it and threw to second, where Luis Sojo was taken out of the double play. Lewis was relieved by Scott Bailes, who gave up a two-run double to Robbie Thompson.

Blyleven’s three-inning, one-run outing in Monday’s B game gave him more optimism than his previous start, but the right-hander said he might stay in Mesa for extra work when the team leaves for Palm Springs on Thursday.

Blyleven, 39, had surgery on his pitching shoulder in October and is unlikely to be ready by opening day. He threw about 40 pitches to the Padres on Monday--20 fewer than his three-inning total last Thursday--and experienced weakness but no pain.