DiSarcina Doesn’t Come Up Short, 5-2

He’s the other shortstop in town.

Gary DiSarcina is not as flashy as the Dodgers’ Jose Offerman, doesn’t possess his speed or power, and certainly isn’t the rage of conversation on the talk shows.

Yet, once again Wednesday in the Angels’ 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers before 18,798 at Anaheim Stadium, DiSarcina proved that he might be one of the most underrated players in the league, much less the Southland.

DiSarcina, who has been as steady as any shortstop in the American League this season, has added a new dimension to his game. It’s called offense, and DiSarcina quietly has become a menace to opposing pitchers.

DiSarcina, who has been at the bottom of the Angels’ order night after night, produced three hits and three runs batted in. That provided all of the offense the Angels would need to keep within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Kansas City Royals.

“He’s the kind of guy that’s always underrated,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said, “but the kind you can’t do without. I can’t tell you what he means to this team.

“There are plenty of guys who can make the great plays, and then boot the easy ones, but Gary has been solid all year.”

DiSarcina, who has made only two errors all season, has been as consistent at the plate the last three weeks. He’s batting .311 since the Angels’ last series against the Rangers, with six doubles, one triple and 13 RBIs. He has raised his batting average to .252--its highest point since May 9.

“I don’t have any real explanation for it,” DiSarcina said, “but I feel a lot more comfortable at the plate. A lot of this game is confidence, and I feel confident at the plate right now.”

In the fourth inning of a 1-1 tie, DiSarcina stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded. Ranger starter Kevin Brown (5-5) hardly appeared threatened, considering that DiSarcina had never had a hit against him in nine career at-bats.

The streak ended when DiSarcina poked Brown’s first pitch into shallow right field, scoring Greg Myers and Damion Easley for a 3-1 lead.

DiSarcina’s feat apparently did little to dissuade Texas that he was an easy out. The Rangers closed to within 4-2 in the top of the seventh, but with Torey Lovullo at second base with two outs and first base open in the bottom of the inning, they elected to intentionally walk J.T. Snow and get to DiSarcina.

DiSarcina waited for his pitch from reliever Matt Whiteside and singled to left, scoring Lovullo for a 5-2 lead. It was all of the runs the Angels would need to preserve the victory for Chuck Finley (7-5), who won for the fourth time in his last five starts.

Finley yielded seven hits and two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. At that point, reliever Gene Nelson came to the rescue and pitched the remainder of the game for his third save.

The victory by Finley was crucial to the Angels’ confidence in their rotation, which was overhauled before the game. The Angels optioned starter John Farrell (2-8, 7.09 earned-run average) to triple-A Vancouver, and recalled rookie Hilly Hathaway (7-0, 4.09 ERA) from Vancouver.

“This is something we had to do,” Rodgers said.

It also became a necessity, Rodgers said, to put Julio Valera back in the bullpen. Valera (3-6, 6.32 ERA) lost his last three starts, yielding a 10.66 ERA. It was obvious, Rodgers said, that Valera’s elbow was bothering him once again.

“We’re going to try to salvage this year for him by keeping him in the bullpen the rest of the season,” Rodgers said. “I know he wants to be a starter, but with his elbow, he knows he’d be better off in this role.”

The roster move leaves the Angels with 15 players on their active roster who were in the minor leagues at the start of the 1992 season, including six rookies.

“I never thought I’d be one of the veterans on the team in my second season,” DiSarcina, 25, said, “but it’s been great. Hey, it’s a whole lot more fun than we had last year.”