Summer Time for Angel’s Blues : Baseball: Royals knock out struggling Sanderson in fourth inning of 5-3 victory.

The summertime has always been the ugliest of seasons for Scott Sanderson, so why should this year be any different?

This time, though, it’s as if there’s a feeling of shame. This time, Sanderson realizes the Angels’ fate in the American League West race could rest on his shoulders, and he’s collapsing at a time when they need him most.

Sanderson was shelled again Tuesday in the Angels’ 5-3 defeat by the Kansas City Royals, failing to get out of the fourth inning.

And suddenly, the Angels’ worst fears are materializing.

“I’m definitely concerned,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said, “because you know he’s not a June or July pitcher. But it’s too early to panic or to do something crazy.”

The Angels were quite familiar with Sanderson’s track record when they signed him to a free-agent contract in February, but when Sanderson won seven of his first 10 starts, they were hoping that perhaps this year would be different.

Instead, it’s happening again. It is June, and Sanderson has lost five consecutive starts, yielding a 7.48 earned-run average, giving up 45 hits in 27 2/3 innings. The Royals pounded him for a season-high 11 hits, scoring four runs before he was removed with one out in the fourth.

“I hope I haven’t peaked yet,” Sanderson (7-7) said with a shrug. “It’s a little early in the season to think your best pitching has gone by.

“But there’s no doubt that I’ve really struggled and pitched poorly, and the challenge is to stop it so this doesn’t go any further.”

Whether it’s the summer heat, or a 36-year-old pitcher wearing down, the Royals knew this was a different Sanderson than the one who pitched the first two months of the season.

Royal Manager Hal McRae says the velocity on Sanderson’s pitches has noticeably decreased since the season’s outset, and when he attempted to compensate by changing his pitching style on Tuesday, the Royals knew he was desperate.

“When he’s going good,” McRae said, “he teases you with the high fastball just off the strike zone that sets everything up. Tonight, he was trying to work down in the strike zone, and guys like him can’t pitch that way.

“His fastball just isn’t the same as it was, and when he doesn’t have it, he’s in trouble.”

The Angels, who dropped out of a share of first place with the defeat, could be in danger of falling out of contention if Sanderson doesn’t quickly correct his deficiencies. He was a bright spot the first two months of the season, and his collapse has left the Angels with only two dependable starters.

The Angels somehow have stayed in the race despite not having a victory by a starter besides Mark Langston or Chuck Finley since May 28. While Langston and Finley are 9-1 with a 3.86 ERA in their last 10 starts, the other three spots in the rotation are 0-12 with a 10.99 ERA.

“We can’t keep going like this, I know that much,” said Whitey Herzog, Angel vice president of player personnel. “For us to stay in the race, we’ve got to get some surprises from our pitching staff. Someone’s got to come through in our rotation.

“We can’t expect to stay in the race with just Langston and Finley.”

The Angels, who are starting Hilly Hathaway (10.80 ERA) tonight and Russ Springer (9.28 ERA) on Friday, also may soon be without Julio Valera in the bullpen. His wife is ready to go into labor, and he said he will fly to Puerto Rico to be with her.

After Gary DiSarcina’s run-scoring single gave the Angels a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, Royal starter David Cone (5-7) shut them down the rest of the way. But the most painful aspect of the evening for California, however, might have been the performance of Royal third baseman Gary Gaetti. Released by the Angels three weeks ago, Gaetti hit his first home run of the season and helped turn a flashy double play in the eighth.

“I know there were a lot of people in Anaheim who said I couldn’t play anymore,” Gaetti said. “Well, I wasn’t going to take someone else’s word for it.”