Polonia’s Second-Inning Dash Keeps the Angels Ahead in the Long Run : Baseball: He scores the decisive run from first base on Gallagher’s bloop single to right field.

Dave Gallagher connected with the pitch, lofting a harmless single into right field.

Harmless, that is, unless Luis Polonia is the runner on first.

Or was the runner on first.

Polonia, stealing on the pitch, was long gone, off on a bold and electrifying scamper around the bases, scoring on a ball that fell into shallow right field.

Danny Tartabull, the Kansas City right fielder appeared momentarily lackadaisical on the play. He hurried a throw home, but Polonia already had slid in safely, hopping to his feet with a clap of his hands.

“I got a good jump,” Polonia said. “When he hit the ball, I was halfway to second. When it landed, I was 10 feet past second. I said, ‘I’ve got a chance.’ I took a chance and it wasn’t even close.”

The game, however, was close, and Polonia’s second-inning dash scored the decisive run Wednesday in a 4-3 victory over Kansas City that moved the Angels into first place in the American League West by the slimmest of margins over the Minnesota Twins.

Bobby Knoop, the third base coach, saw the play unfolding, and moved down the line to keep Polonia from stopping. Actually, with Polonia, the hard part would have been trying to stop him.

“I’ve tried to stop him on other occasions,” Knoop said, “and right or wrong, I can’t stop him when he gets around the bag running for home.

“That’s the way Looie plays. I think he’s hell-bent for leather.”

Knoop knew who he was dealing with and he saw the opportunity.

“It was an extremely heads-up play, both by Louie . . . and Bobby Knoop, who deserves a lot of credit for being able to read the play,” Manager Doug Rader said.

Knoop is used to the way Polonia runs the bases, and he doesn’t think it’s reckless.

“I don’t think he gambles with his running,” Knoop said. “He’s a very good runner, very aggressive. He’s not the type of runner who anticipates you’re going to stop him. You almost have to corral him to stop him.”

This time, Polonia said nobody was going to stop him.

“I knew the risk I was taking,” he said.

Tartabull was his victim, but he was just a random one.

“I respect this guy, he’s got a pretty good arm,” Polonia said. “But I’m going no matter what. I don’t care who’s there and who’s not.”

During one season with the Oakland Athletics, Polonia said he scored three times from first on singles.

“But not with a bloop hit,” he said. “Nothing that close.”

Wednesday, he was the difference in a close game.

“He plays extremely hard and very aggressively,” Rader said. “The way he plays is important to us. It sets a mood during a game. He can do some things that are very exciting. More than anything else, he sets a precedent for this team, an example.

“I don’t like to think what we would do without Louie.”