Orioles’ Revenge Is Sweet : Angels: Fernandez answers previous night’s beaning with sharp pitching in Baltimore’s 4-2 victory.

Sid Fernandez toyed with the idea of vengeance Thursday night, thinking about sending a few Angel batters to the dirt and maybe purposely hitting a couple for good measure.

Instead, he retaliated by pitching one of the finest games of his career, enabling the Baltimore Orioles to walk away smugly into the night with a 4-2 victory over the Angels.

“What do you want me to do, start a war?” Fernandez said. “What happened last night is last night. This is a different day.

“The best way to get revenge is by winning the game.”

Fernandez stymied the Angels in front of 16,415 at Anaheim Stadium, giving up three hits in 8 1/3 innings. He then stepped aside for Lee Smith, who needed only three pitches to record his major league leading 11th save.

Fernandez, making only his third start since coming back from biceps tendinitis, yielded a second-inning homer to Chili Davis, a bunt single to Chad Curtis in the fourth and did not allow another hit until Curtis’ one-out homer in the ninth.

“That’s as good a game that’s been pitched against us this year,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “El Sid had pretty good stuff, and we helped him a lot by swinging at a lot of bad pitches.”

The Orioles (14-7), who stayed within half a game of Boston in the American League East, would have actually preferred to do their damage Thursday against Angel reliever Scott Lewis when he entered the game in the seventh. Lewis hit Oriole catcher Chris Hoiles in the head Wednesday night, but said Thursday that he was sorry for the accidental pitch.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I wasn’t trying to pitch inside,” Lewis said. “But I was not trying to hit him. Part of the plate is mine too; I have to pitch inside.

“When he got hit, I thought, ‘Oh geez, I hurt him really bad.’ Believe me, I’m not there trying to hit anybody.

“I’ve got to think about my team, and I’m not trying to pluck one of those guys in the head knowing my teammates have got to come to bat.”

The Angels (9-14), who were ripped for 17 runs and 29 hits in their two-game sweep, now appear ready to shake up their pitching staff. They have lost six of their last seven games and nine of their last 12, falling into third place in the anemic American League West.

John Dopson (1-3, 6.00 earned-run average), who yielded seven hits and four earned runs in six innings, probably will be the first casualty in the rotation. The Angels privately decided that Dopson will be moved to the bullpen. Joe Magrane, who will make his final rehabilitative start Saturday for triple-A Vancouver, will replace Dopson in the rotation.

“Since opening day, he’s been taking steps backward,” Rodgers said. “You have to consider him for the bullpen, but I don’t know how his arm will respond.”

Said Dopson, who pitched six games in relief last season for the Red Sox: “It’s best for me not to comment. Except for one bad inning, I didn’t think I did bad.”

Veteran starting pitcher John Farrell, who started Thursday for Vancouver, probably will remain in the minors until the Angels make a determination on starter Phil Leftwich. If Leftwich (0-3, 7.15 ERA) struggles tonight against Boston, he might be replaced by Farrell in the rotation. The Angels also are contemplating using Mark Leiter as a bullpen stopper, but Leiter has been effective as a starter with a 2-1 record and 4.50 ERA.

“We don’t want to keep shuttling people back and forth,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “If we make a move, we’d like it to be permanent.”

Despite Lewis’ regrets, the Orioles were still complaining about the pitch that nailed Hoiles, saying it was a purpose pitch, vowing there will be retaliation before the season ends.

“We’ll see those guys somewhere down the road,” Oriole starting pitcher Ben McDonald said. “I don’t care what they say; there was no doubt in my mind he was throwing at him. It was that obvious.”

Said Oriole Manager Johnny Oates: “I hope all those brave souls think what the consequences are if they ever hit somebody in the temple and he doesn’t get up. It’s easy to be brave 60 feet away.”

Hoiles was unable to play Thursday. He is expected to return to the lineup tonight, but he remained angry at Lewis.

“If you’re going to hit somebody, you don’t hit somebody in the head,” Hoiles said. “Throwing inside is part of the game, I understand that, but not at that height. To hit me where he did is uncalled for.”