Relieved Springer Standout in Relief : Baseball: He gets first major league save as Angels finish sweep of Red Sox, 8-4.

Wednesday afternoon, Russ Springer was slumped in front of his locker, trying to explain why he had been replaced in the starting rotation by rookie Andrew Lorraine.

Wednesday night, Springer retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced and picked up the first save of his professional career as the Angels beat the Red Sox, 8-4, in front of 17,180 at Anaheim Stadium.

Since his recall from triple-A Vancouver June 9, the Angels had been trying to get Springer to take advantage of his 6-foot-4 stature and pitch more over the top--”downhill,” as Manager Marcel Lachemann puts it. Springer had struggled trying to make the adjustment, though, and sounded almost relieved to be in the bullpen because he also been given permission to return to his natural arm angle.

“It just wasn’t comfortable,” he said. “I wanted to go back to the way I was pitching in Vancouver.”

Wednesday night, Springer was back in a comfort zone, pitching with his new-old three-quarters delivery, the one that had helped him to a 7-4 record with a 3.04 earned-run average in the minors.

It was the first time this season the Angels had swept a series, and the first time they had won three in a row since mid-June. Inconsistent pitching has been the key factor in their inability to string a few victories together.

The Angels staked Phil Leftwich to a 4-0 lead after two innings, but then the game developed into a see-saw, you-score-then-we’ll-score affair, and Leftwich finally was lifted in the sixth inning after giving up back-to-back doubles to Tom Brunansky and Mike Greenwell.

Leftwich left with a 6-4 lead, but given the way baseballs were flying around the park, no lead was safe. The two teams had already collected sixteen hits, including four doubles and two homers, and they were only one out into the sixth inning.

So nobody in the stands was waving a broom.

But Springer, who was 0-1 in four relief appearances before Wednesday night, struck out four and gave up three singles. He may not have slammed the door, but he managed to push it shut, which is all the Angels can ask for these days.

The Angel batters continued to hold up their end of the bargain, picking up 12 hits, including home runs by Chili Davis and Bo Jackson.

The first two Angel hitters--Chad Curtis and Spike Owen--scored as the Angels roughed up Boston starter Chris Nabholz for two runs on three hits.

They went ahead, 4-0, in the second inning when Chris Turner and Gary DiSarcina had back-to-back singles, Curtis walked and Spike Owen slapped a two-run single to left.

Leftwich retired the first six Red Sox in order, before designated hitter Wes Chamberlain singled off the glove of a diving DiSarcina to open the third inning. One out later, Damon Berryhill jumped on a 3-and-2 pitch and lined it over the wall in right-center field.

Davis led off the third and got half of the margin back on one swing. He hit a rocket in almost the exact same spot as Berryhill’s homer. It was Davis’ 20th homer of the season, the seventh in which he has hit at least 20 home runs.

The highlight of Boston’s night might have come in the fourth inning, when a Red Sox pitcher finally managed to keep Curtis off base. Curtis, who had reached base 10 consecutive times, was hit by a pitch in the first and walked in the second. The streak ended two shy of the club record, set by Bobby Grich in 1984.

Curtis’ streak ended, but the hit parade didn’t.

Both teams scored a run in the fifth and sixth innings. Owen’s double, Davis’ sacrifice fly and consecutive singles by Jackson and J.T. Snow chased Nabholz in the fifth. And Leftwich suffered a similar fate in the sixth.