Polonia Keeps Angels in Fast Lane : Baseball: Outfielder’s speed and RBI single help Angels defeat Oakland.

The Angels arrived at Anaheim Stadium for the first time this season only to discover they suddenly had a power shortage.

They hit six homers in their first six games, all on the road. But in their first three at home, all losses to the Oakland Athletics, the Angels were homerless.

Luis Polonia figured that meant he had to do something, and he gave the Angels a first-inning jump start by walking to lead off the game, stealing second and coming home on Wally Joyner’s single.

“Hey, we’re not just going to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” Polonia said. “Sometimes you have to mix it up.”

That means singles and speed, and Polonia’s specialty, clutch-hitting. Last season, no Angel hit better with runners in scoring position than Polonia’s .325. Most impressive was his .382 average with runners in scoring position and two outs.

Gary Gaetti broke the team’s homerless stretch of 122 at-bats with a fourth-inning home run, his first as an Angel. Those runs were all the Angels needed for a 7-1 victory.

But they got another boost from Polonia, whose two-out single drove in Donnie Hill from second in the same inning.

“After those three games, I just said I’m going to get on base as much as I can,” Polonia said. “I’m thinking I’m going to take more pitches.”

The night before, he went one for four. In Thursday’s game, he went two for four, plus had the leadoff walk that led to a 1-0 Angel lead.

“I’m thinking I have to be more aggressive and more patient at the same time,” said Polonia, who is hitting .361. “I’ve got to be patient until I get a good pitch to hit, not just swing at anything. When I see the pitch I want, then I have to be aggressive.”

Once he’s on the basepaths, he’s more aggressive than patient. He is six for six already in steals, after stealing 21 last season.

“We’ve been running, we’ve been stealing bases,” he said. “We’re going to hit-and-run, not just hit the ball out of the ball park.”

Polonia’s plate proficiency is nothing new. He wears last season’s .335 average on a pendant around his neck to prove that.

But his proficiency in the outfield is.

Polonia runs on the opposition--and the opposition tries to run on Polonia, right back.

It is not a compliment to his fielding reputation. Remember: Polonia used to play for Oakland.

On Wednesday night, when Willie Wilson singled with Harold Baines on second, third-base coach Rene Lachemann waved Baines home. Polonia’s one-hop throw nailed him easy, by at least five feet.

Granted, Baines, mostly a designated hitter, isn’t the speediest of baserunners any more, but Lachemann considered that when he sent him on. He was counting on a lesser throw by Polonia.

“You get an arm transplant since last year?” he teased Polonia the next day, before Thursday night’s game.

Laughs all around, but Lachemann would probably send Baines again.

“He (has) been doing it every night,” Polonia said. “I’m out there telling him, send ‘em. My arm is better. I lifted weights, and last year they worked with me on my mechanics at the end of the year.”

So what if they send runners. It’s a challenge, and that’s what Polonia thrives on.