BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Error-Plagued Schofield Gets a Rest

The Metrodome wasn’t a pleasant place for shortstop Dick Schofield this week, and he got a day off Thursday in the final game of a series in which he made four errors--two Tuesday and two Wednesday. He also bobbled a double-play ball in Monday’s loss to Minnesota, failing to get either out and allowing the tying run to score.

Schofield’s four errors in two games equaled his total in his previous 33 appearances. He has 12 errors this season, after finishing with 17 last season.

Dave Winfield said he was a day away from asking to be taken out of the lineup when he hit his 400th home run. Before Wednesday’s game, he had gone one for 26 since hitting No. 399 on Aug. 5.

Winfield, who had spent the day conducting a batting clinic in his hometown of St. Paul, became the 23rd player to reach 400 runs, and at 39 years 10 months, the third oldest to hit No. 400, behind Darrell Evans (41 years 3 months) and Carl Yastrzemski (39 years 11 months).

He also passed Rogers Hornsby to move into 20th place on the RBI list with 1,580.

Shawn Abner, acquired from San Diego July 30 in a trade for Jack Howell, started in center field for the fourth day in a row, and hit his first home run as an Angel Thursday. He had one with the Padres this season, and has nine in 260 games in his career. . . . Chris Cron, who had been with the Angels since Aug. 7 without getting into a game, got his first major league at-bat in the ninth inning, when he batted for Dave Parker. Cron, who played at El Dorado High and Rancho Santiago College, hit a fly ball to right. With triple-A Edmonton, Cron batted .294 with 19 home runs.