Birthday Is as Sweet as 16 for Angel Rookie

The Angel players ordered everyone out of the clubhouse Tuesday morning, then Chili Davis and other veterans stood up and let everyone know the days of being satisfied with one-run losses are over.

There’s no reason to panic, they said, it’s time to stop this four-game losing streak.

So who did the veterans turn to for that?

Who but Brian Anderson, who celebrated his 22nd birthday in style, defeating the New York Yankees, 6-3, in a season that still seems to be a fantasy.

“I told him, ‘Stay asleep,’ ” left fielder Dwight Smith said. “ ‘Keep dreaming. Don’t wake up until October.’ ”

Anderson, whose most memorable birthday before Tuesday was his 16th--”That was a pretty big deal, you know, finally being able to drive”--came within an out of pitching a shutout at Yankee Stadium.

That fell through when Gerald Williams hit a two-run double. Anderson was pulled and, angry at himself, slammed his glove down, then threw his cap onto the bench.

“I was just upset with myself because I came so close,” said Anderson, who is 3-0 with a 2.61 earned-run average. “One more nasty pitch and I had it.”

Still, there will be plenty of other opportunities. Anderson was brought up as a fill-in when Mark Langston needed elbow surgery, apparently is in the rotation to stay.

“Let’s just say his job’s safe,” Manager Buck Rodgers said. “He’s not going to back to (triple A) Vancouver, I’ll tell you that.

“We’ve got nine wins and his starts are responsible for four of them.”

Said Yankee infielder Mike Gallego: “He sure doesn’t look like any rookie to me. The kid can pitch. He throws strikes, he challenges hitters, he does everything you want.

“He’s not going to be a good pitcher, he already is a good pitcher.”

Apparently, Janice Anderson, Brian’s mother, wants to make sure he looks the part. She gave him a gold chain and leather briefcase for his birthday. He showed off his gifts to teammate Phil Leftwich, and said, “I guess she wants me to be an adult now.”

Smith got a gift of his own, a magnum of champagne from Bo Jackson for hitting his first American League homer. Smith’s shot landed 396 feet away in the upper deck.

He planned to share his gift with Anderson.

“Hey, he’s old enough, right?” Smith said. “Anyone that can pitch like that ain’t no kid. He’s my hero.

“I’ve never seen a young pitcher throw the ball that good in a long time. The way he acts out there, he kind of reminds me of a Greg Maddux from the left side. He’s not going to let anybody intimidate him.”

Smith also had a single and drove in three runs but it was the home run that thrilled him.

“I’ve been coming to New York for five years, and even in Shea Stadium, I never hit a homer,” he said. “Those fans in left field were reminding me of that, too.

“When I got back into the clubhouse, I had to come in and see the replay for myself, and it’s still hard for me to believe.”

The Angels’ victory kept them in first place in the American League West with a 9-12 record, but more important, it was a game the Angels deemed critical for their morale.

“We needed this one bad,” Smith said. “I told the guys before the game, ‘Don’t feel sorry for yourself, let’s just play our game.’ I know people are ragging on us because of our division, but we’re still in first place.

“It doesn’t matter if you play .300 ball, because if you get to playoffs, all those wins go down the tidy bowl, and it’s the best of seven. And to me, this team can play with anybody.”

Anderson and Smith weren’t the only Angels who had big games.

Rookie catcher Jorge Fabregas, Anderson’s roommate in New York, produced two hits and drove in a run in his first major league start. He is being acclaimed as the top defensive catcher in the organization, and even with Greg Myers scheduled to return in June, Fabregas is making his bid to stay.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Fabregas said. “Everything’s happened so fast. I’m glad I got my first hit here because I grew up watching the Yankees. They were my team.

“I just had to walk around the (outfield) monuments to get a close look, and I’m sure the guys in the Yankee bullpen were thinking, ‘What the heck is that guy doing down there?’

“Hey, I don’t care. This is Yankee Stadium.

“This was some day, wasn’t it?”