Angels Find a Stopper in Worst Way : Baseball: Juan Gonzalez drives in eight runs in Rangers’ 18-2 victory. Chili Davis mops up with two hitless innings.

St. Louis Brown owner Bill Veeck brought in 3-foot-7 midget Eddie Gaedel in 1951 when things were going bad.

The San Diego Padres summoned Roseanne Barr to sing the national anthem to boost attendance, certainly creating much more attention than they ever envisioned.

And what do the Angels do in catastrophic times such as Thursday, when they’re being humiliated by the Texas Rangers, 18-2, a night Juan Gonzalez drove in eight runs in the most lopsided game in franchise history?

They solicit volunteers to pitch, the latest being designated hitter Chili Davis, who became their second position player in 11 days to pitch in a game.

But while Gaedel never appeared in another major league game, and Barr was never invited back to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for her own safety, the Angels might be on to something with their latest creation.

Davis, you see, easily turned out to be the Angels’ finest pitcher of the night, pitching two hitless innings.

Considering that infielder Rene Gonzales pitched a 1-2-3 inning June 6 against the Detroit Tigers in an 11-4 defeat, the two “non-pitchers” have posted a 0.00 earned-run average.

The rest of the Angel pitchers have a 4.12 ERA.

“Truthfully, you hate to get beat because of the humiliation,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “But once the humiliation is gone, it’s just a loss.”

Davis, who was not in the lineup for the first time since April 27, perhaps had an inclination he might be needed. He pitched batting practice before the game, and apparently, got all the work he needed. The only flaw in his performance was when he plunked Jose Canseco on the left shoulder, leaving Canseco laughing all the way down the first-base line.

When Davis’ stint ended--the longest outing by a non-pitcher since Bill Pecota pitched two innings for Kansas City against the Angels in 1991--he received an ovation from the crowd of 19,263 at Anaheim Stadium. Davis tipped his cap to the crowd as if he had hit a grand slam.

Who could blame the fans? They had to watch the Angels’ first three pitchers get torched for 17 hits and 18 runs.

Angel starter Scott Sanderson (7-6), whose trading card reveals a dominant pitcher in April and May but one who endures a meltdown in June, had already iced his arm and showered by the time the Angels got their first hit in the fifth inning.

By that time, the Rangers had a 14-0 lead.

The Rangers blooped, dunked, bounced and ricocheted nine hits and 10 runs (seven earned) off Sanderson in 3 1/3 innings, and it got worse after he departed.

The Rangers had an 18-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning, and eventually scored the most runs against the Angels in Anaheim Stadium history.

The Ranger highlight video featured:

--Gonzalez setting a franchise record with his eight RBIs, the most in the major leagues this season. It also was the most RBIs by an Angel opponent since 1985, when Eddie Murray of Baltimore drove in nine with three homers.

--Infielder Doug Strange tying his career high with four hits.

--Designated hitter Canseco hitting a homer and driving in three runs.

--Every player in the Ranger starting lineup reaching base by the fourth inning.

--The Rangers scoring at least two runs in every inning until the seventh.

--Ranger starter Kenny Rogers, who entered the game with a 4-5 record and 6.40 ERA, allowing only two balls out of the infield through the first five innings and giving up two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Sanderson didn’t know what was worse, getting shellacked on the mound during his brief stay, or having to remain in the clubhouse watching his teammates suffer the same fate.

Reliever Ken Patterson, who gave up a grand slam to Gonzalez in the fifth inning after loading the bases by walking three consecutive batters, took a different approach. He got himself thrown out of the game.

Patterson began screaming at home-plate umpire Derryl Cousins the moment Gonzalez’s homer reached the right-center field seats, and was immediately ejected.

Patterson spiked the baseball, threw his glove, screamed a little more at Cousins, and headed to the clubhouse to join Sanderson.