A Chip Off Old Brock for Rickey : Angels: They fall below .500 and Abbott falls to 0-4 as A’s complete three-game sweep, 7-3.

The Angels’ Jack Howell professed not to know whether Rickey Henderson had tied Lou Brock’s stolen base record or was several steals away from a place in history.

“I don’t think we went out of our way to do anything different,” said Howell, who started in left field in Oakland’s 7-3 victory before moving to second base and applying a late tag on the Athletic outfielder’s record-tying steal in the sixth. “We went about doing what we would normally do, whether he was trying to break a record or not. It doesn’t change the way I felt about the game. My team lost. That’s what I’m thinking about.”

The Angels had a lot to think about Sunday besides being unwilling accomplices to Henderson equaling Brock’s record of 938 steals. They suffered their ninth loss in 13 games and sixth in seven games against the A’s this season.

Henderson’s historic steal against pitcher Jeff Robinson and catcher Lance Parrish ignited a two-run sixth inning for the A’s and lifted them beyond the Angels’ reach. The Angels’ third three-game losing streak of the season has dropped them below .500 (9-10) for the first time.

“What Rickey does is good for Rickey and also good for the ballclub,” said Stewart (2-2), whose record had sunk below .500 for the first time in four years before Sunday. “If he makes history, we do, too.”

The Angels haven’t wavered in their belief they will look back on being swept by the A’s as a dark but brief period in their history. So far, their faith is stronger than the evidence.

“We lost three, but we’re not beaten,” Manager Doug Rader said. “This ballclub is going to win 10 in a row, this ballclub is going to win 20 of 25. This series will be a distant memory.”

A bad one.

The Angels took a 2-0 lead on Stewart in the first inning, but Oakland scored four in the third off Jim Abbott (0-4).

Oakland scored four in the third off Jim Abbott (0-4). Singles by Mike Gallego, Rickey Henderson and Lance Blankenship produced one run. Canseco drove in two with a double over Howell in left and McGwire made it 4-2 by grounding a single through short.

The Angels cut their deficit to 4-3 on Howell’s first home run of the season, but fell farther behind in the fifth and sixth.

Polonia, playing center field to give the slumping Junior Felix a rest, couldn’t hang onto Dave Henderson’s fly ball in the fifth inning with runners on first and third. In transferring the ball from his glove to his throwing hand he dropped the ball, and second base umpire Drew Coble to call Henderson safe. Canseco was forced at second but Lance Blankenship scored, giving Oakland a 5-3 lead.

“I caught the ball. I just wanted to get it into my hand to make a throw,” Polonia said. “It was clear that I caught it.”

Rickey Henderson caught Brock in the sixth inning. After being hit by a Robinson pitch, Henderson stole on a 1-and-2 forkball.

Canseco’s double to left scored Henderson with Oakland’s sixth run, and Canseco scored on Terry Steinbach’s single to right.

The A’s got Abbott out of the game after 4 2/3 innings and left him with an 0-5 career record against them. He is winless in his past eight starts, since a 3-1 victory over the Twins Sept. 10, but he said his confidence remains unshaken.

“I really have a lot of faith in myself. I think it will come and I’ll get this behind me,” said Abbott, who gave up eight hits and five earned runs, which raised his earned-run average to 6.00.

The key for the Angels, Howell said, is not to panic. “We’ve got a good group of guys. We have veterans who can show how to keep your head up when things aren’t so hot,” he said. “I think we’re going to be all right.”