Ryan Wins by Throwing Legend Past Angels : Baseball: Rangers’ 6-3 victory comes on a night when pitcher struggles against a team in awe.

Nolan Ryan’s legendary fastball had virtually nothing to do with the Texas Rangers’ 6-3 victory Tuesday night over the Angels at Arlington Stadium.

His fastball and changeup proved to be no better than ordinary.

There were no brawls, no noogies and only three strikeouts in Ryan’s six-inning performance.

So how in the world could the Angels meekly succumb to Ryan, when he admittedly had “absolutely nothing?”

“We got beat alone on his name,” Angel leadoff hitter Luis Polonia said. “That’s who beat us.

“We should have killed the guy with the stuff he had, but we got intimidated just because we knew Nolan Ryan was pitching. You could sense it. Just knowing he was out there, we had a totally different approach.

“We didn’t judge him on what he has, which is too bad, because he was very hittable.”

The Angels were so intimidated by the legend of Ryan that it even affected the one man who didn’t even have to step to the plate--rookie pitcher Phil Leftwich.

After appearing so poised and mature in his first two starts with the Angels, Leftwich looked like a kid in awe. Among the first five hitters he faced, Leftwich walked two, hit another on an 0-and-2 pitch and surrendered a grand slam to Julio Franco.

“I thought too much of Nolan Ryan coming into the game,” said Leftwich (0-3), who yielded six hits, five walks and five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. “I was so excited to face him I told just about everybody about it, and it cost me.

“Normally, I just go right at hitters and throw a lot of fast balls, but (tonight) I fell behind in the count and I lost all aggressiveness.”

Said Angel Manager Buck Rodgers: “For the first time, he beat himself.”

Ryan (4-3), who said he felt sore and never could get loose in the bullpen, surprised himself by lasting six innings. After watching him warm up before the game, the Rangers gave notice to the bullpen.

“I really pitched poorly today,” said Ryan, who yielded five hits, three walks and three runs, two earned. “I just never got any rhythm at all. I can’t say I had one pitch that got me out of a jam.”

Well, actually, two pitches got him out of a heap of trouble in the fifth inning. The Angels were trailing, 5-3, when they loaded the bases with one out, bringing Chili Davis to the plate.

Davis got caught looking at a third strike on the outside corner for his 28th strikeout against Ryan, most among active players, and Eduardo Perez grounded meekly to second baseman Doug Strange for the final out.

The crowd of 33,726 at Arlington Stadium stood, cheering wildly until Ryan reached the dugout.

While Davis was in no mood to talk about his evening, striking out three times--once apiece against Ryan, Cris Carpenter and Tom Henke--Perez shrugged off his three strikeouts to inexperience.

“To strike out against Ryan,” Perez said, “was an honor.”

His strikeout in the second inning made him the eighth father-son combination that Ryan has fanned. Eduardo’s father, Tony Perez, struck out seven times.

“I remember seeing him in high school when I was with the Astros,” Ryan said. “Tony introduced me to him. He was a big kid then, and had some tools.

“But it never crossed my mind that I’d be facing him one day.”

DiSarcina, 25, was one of seven Angels in the game who have lived fewer years than Ryan has pitched in the major leagues.

“Well, the one thing I got going for me,” DiSarcina said, “was I can tell my kids some day that I was one of the few guys never to strike out against Ryan.

“Now, to me, that’s an honor.”