Angels Sweep the Blue Jays Behind Rookie

Lifeless, punchless, unemotional and plain dead in the water.

No, not the Angels.

In three games at Anaheim Stadium, the Toronto Blue Jays played like a team 16 games out of first place and counting the days until the season is over.

Sunday, the Blue Jays lost to the Angels, 5-1, before 19,653.

Toronto came to Anaheim with a two-game lead over the New York Yankees, but left in a tie for first in the American League East. And Baltimore moved to within 2 1/2 games.

The Blue Jays batted a meager .200 (19 for 95) and a woeful .176 (three for 17) with runners in scoring position. It was no wonder the Angels were able to sweep a series for the first time since winning three against Baltimore May 28-30.

It was one thing when veterans Mark Langston and Joe Magrane silenced the Blue Jays’ potent offense this weekend.

But Phil Leftwich?

Leftwich, making his eighth major league start since his promotion from triple-A Vancouver on July 28, became the first Angel rookie in more than a year to pitch a complete game. He gave up six hits and two walks with five strikeouts while looking as poised and comfortable as either Langston or Magrane.

Toronto’s only run came on an RBI single by John Olerud, the major league’s leading hitter at .379, in the ninth inning.

Leftwich improved to 2-4 and dropped his earned-run average to 3.32.

“Very poised and in control of all his pitches,” Chili Davis, who hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and a run-scoring single in the seventh, said of Leftwich.

“He knows what he’s doing out there.”

Said Langston: “He’s been very impressive . . . To hold these guys in check is a great building block for him for next year.”

Said Manager Buck Rodgers: “He’s been very poised and consistent, and that’s nice to see. He’s got a good delivery and a command of three pitches (fastball, curve and slider). He’s got all the ingredients. Let’s see how far he goes.”

Leftwich held the Blue Jays, who trail only the Yankees for the AL lead in team batting average at .278, to only one hit through five innings. Leftwich didn’t give up an extra base hit until Joe Carter hammered a one-out double off the left field fence in the ninth inning.

He scored on Olerud’s single. But Leftwich didn’t fold, getting Tony Fernandez to ground into a force play and Rob Butler to fly out to end the game.

“Complete games are special to me,” Leftwich said. “It’s nice to get the first one out of the way. It’s a real good feeling. I wasn’t nervous, but I had two mediocre starts back-to-back. This game did a lot for me.”

In the ninth, with the Angels leading by 5-0, Leftwich showed his eagerness to polish off the Blue Jays by sprinting to the mound before his teammates were ready to take the field.

A moment or two passed before the others followed, but Leftwich looked at ease standing alone on the field.

“I looked around and nobody was ready to go out there,” Leftwich said with a laugh.

“I said, ‘Well, I’ll go out there and fix the mound or something.’ I don’t let a lot of things bother me. I’m a low-key guy.”