Shrinking Band of Angels See Nightmare in Toronto

The Angels listened to the public-address threats of a possible forfeit last week against the Toronto Blue Jays during their melee at Anaheim, but the way things were unfolding Tuesday, they wouldn’t have minded calling it quits.

The Angels, in danger of running out of position players without a brawl, were hammered, 14-6, by the Blue Jays, and can’t wait to flee this country.

Certainly, their pride hasn’t been helped after watching the Blue Jays tee off on their pitching staff as if it were batting practice. Toronto launched four more home runs, and the 14 runs in front of 49,112 at the Skydome were the most the Blue Jays had scored against the Angels. It also was the most runs scored against the Angels on the road since 1980, when Milwaukee scored 20.

The Angels would love to say this was an aberration, but the numbers tell quite a different story against a team that has battered them all five times they have played this season:

The Blue Jays are hitting .326 against the Angels, with 14 homers, and outscoring them, 43-19. Second baseman Roberto Alomar has five homers and 11 runs batted in against the Angels.

“They’re just teeing off on us,” Angel infielder Rene Gonzales said. “The way we’ve been looking, I don’t think we’re stacking with anybody right now.”

Said catcher Ron Tingley: “It’s been like a nightmare. The only thing we can be thankful for is that they’re in a different division.”

The Angels’ greatest predicament is that the pitching staff, which carried the team through the first seven weeks of the season, has deteriorated. The last eight games: 82 hits, 62 runs (57 earned), 17 homers and 33 walks in 68 innings for a 7.54 earned-run average.

“There are some guys right now whose confidence isn’t too good,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “We have some individual pitchers who are afraid of throwing the ball over the plate right now, and we’re getting smoked.”

Actually, the way everything was going Tuesday, the Angels were grateful they had enough players to field a team by the time it ended.

Just take a look at the outfield that played the last three innings: Kelly Gruber in left field, Stan Javier in center and Torey Lovullo in right.

It all started at about 4 p.m. Tuesday when starting center fielder Chad Curtis informed Rodgers that he would begin serving his three-day suspension. Rodgers, who already was without catcher John Orton (strained thumb), had recommended that Curtis forget about the appeal, but by the end of the first inning Rodgers was wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Luis Polonia, the first batter, fouled a ball off his right shin. He played five innings, but the pain forced him to leave in the sixth inning.

Javier, who replaced Curtis in the lineup, was next to the plate. He would hurt himself in the bottom of the first, but at this moment, he bloodied teammate Tim Salmon.

Javier shattered his bat on a popup to shortstop Luis Sojo, and the top half of his bat flew into the on-deck circle, cutting Salmon’s right elbow.

“I was just taking a practice swing when Javier hit the ball,” Salmon said, “and I felt something hit my elbow. I looked down and said, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I was imagining the worst.

“There was a piece of wood in my arm about the size of a popsicle stick. . . . That’s all I saw. I didn’t want to see any more.”

Salmon was removed from the game, taken to the hospital for X-rays--which proved negative; he could play tonight--and Lovullo found himself at the plate.

The Angels survived their top of the first without additional injuries, but moments later they gasped while watching Javier run face-first into the center-field wall while catching a fly ball from Alomar. The impact left him backward, and he lay on the turf for about 30 seconds until trainer Rick Smith came out to examine him. Javier stayed in the game.

“I think it was at about this time,” Tingley said, “when I told Chad, ‘Call the American League office now and tell them to forget about the suspension. We’re running out of people.’ ”