Acclaim for Others Doesn’t Faze Salmon : Baseball: Although Seattle’s Amaral cited as midseason rookie of year, Angel right fielder keeps going strong in victory over Boston.

ANAHEIM — Tim Salmon looked as if something was bothering him the other day, so Manager Buck Rodgers decided to check on the rookie right fielder’s state of mind.

There was no telling how the team’s recent six-game losing streak had affected Salmon’s psyche and Rodgers wanted to head off any problems before they mushroomed.

Their conversation went something like this:

Rodgers: “Tim, you OK?”

Salmon: “Just keep putting my name in there (the lineup card).”

Rodgers: “Don’t worry. You show up, you’re in the lineup.”

Rodgers burst out laughing when he related the story Wednesday after Salmon drove in the winning run in the Angels’ 7-6 victory over Boston.

“Like I wasn’t going to put him in the lineup,” he said, smiling.

USA Today came out with its midseason awards Wednesday, selecting Seattle infielder Rich Amaral (Estancia High, OCC) as the American League’s rookie of the half-year. After 10 seasons of toil in the minor leagues, Amaral, 31, is the oldest rookie in the major leagues.

If he indeed wins the award when it’s presented in early October, Amaral would be baseball’s oldest rookie of the year.

And you had the feeling Wednesday that Rodgers would hit the roof.

“Tim Salmon is the best rookie in the league, but I’m not going to preach that from the hilltop,” Rodgers said. “USA Today can make their picks. You guys can make your picks. Tim has had a good half season.”

What better evidence did Rodgers have than Salmon’s pivotal final at-bat Wednesday?

The score was 6-6 with Luis Polonia at second base and Chad Curtis at first and none out when Salmon faced Red Sox reliever Jeff Russell.

Despite Salmon’s assurance to Rodgers that all was well, he said he was troubled by inconsistency the past few games. Nothing too serious, he said, but his lack of hitting was starting to grate on his nerves.

“I didn’t feel like I was contributing at the plate,” he said. “It had only been two or three days, but it seemed like a month. If you’ve ever played the game you know how that goes. It gets frustrating, especially when we’re scrapping for wins.”

Salmon went into his ninth-inning at-bat without a hit since a single in the fifth inning of a 7-6, 11-inning victory over Cleveland on Sunday. In his next 16 plate appearances, he grounded out six times, struck out four times, flied out twice, walked twice, been hit by a pitch once and reached on an error.

When he settled into the batter’s box against Russell, who had converted 18 of 19 save opportunities going into the game, he thought for a moment about laying down a bunt to advance the runners. Quickly, he dismissed the notion.

“The (No.) 3, 4 and 5 guys in the order aren’t supposed to sacrifice,” he said.

With the count one ball and two strikes, Russell delivered a fastball that Salmon simply pushed into short right field for a single. Polonia, running on the pitch, scored easily and the Angels completed their second consecutive ninth-inning rally.

The run batted in increased Salmon’s total to 53, second-highest on the club behind Chili Davis’ 63, and the single kept his batting average steady at .273. He also has a team-leading 15 home runs.

“I think in spring training I predicted 15 home runs and 75 RBIs for Salmon,” Rodgers said. “But the thing is I didn’t realize he enjoys being in that situation (with the game on the line). You have to enjoy that. You can’t wait for the other guy to pick you up. He has no fear of failure. You like to see that in young players.”