BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Polonia Lets Bat Strengthen His Case

Luis Polonia hopes his RBI single Sunday against Red Sox left-hander Tom Bolton proved to Manager Buck Rodgers he can trust Polonia against left-handers in crucial situations.

Rodgers called Polonia back to the bench last Tuesday with Frank Tanana pitching for Detroit, a move Polonia said “really hurt.” But Rodgers let him face Bolton, and Polonia rewarded Rodgers’ trust by driving in the final run of the Angels’ 3-1 victory.

“Those are the type of situations I really want to get a hit,” Polonia said. “I don’t want to put it in the manager’s mind, ‘Should I let him hit?’ It really bothers me when that happens.”

Wade Boggs tipped his cap to Angel hitting instructor Rod Carew after collecting his 2,000th hit Sunday, a grounder to the edge of the dirt between first and second that he beat out with a slide. “When I broke in, he and Pete Rose were the two guys I really admired,” Boggs said. “Three thousand (hits) is really the pinnacle all hitters shoot for.”

Rodgers said he’ll confer today with Carew about whether to rest Hubie Brooks another day. Brooks, who has gone six games without and RBI and is in a three-for-23 slump that has dropped his batting average to .241, sat out his first game of the season Sunday. Alvin Davis was one for three with an RBI in his first Angel start as the designated hitter.