ANGELS : Outfielder Gets High Grade for Effort : Baseball: Shockey comes up with a big catch in 6-4 victory over Seattle.

If replacement players start the regular season and the game develops any kind of significant fan following, it will likely be because of players such as Greg Shockey, Angel right fielder.

Shockey, a former Mater Dei and Cal State Northridge standout, sprinted about 40 yards and made a diving, back-hand grab of Greg Steen’s fly ball in foul territory Sunday, avoiding about a dozen players and coaches in the Angel bullpen and skidding just short of the wall.

The seventh-inning grab was the highlight of the Angels’ 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners in front of 2,761 fans, the largest Tempe Diablo Stadium crowd of the spring.

“Bob Starr (Angel radio announcer) told me that a lot of guys would have shied away from a catch like that because it could end their career,” said Shockey, who also knocked in the winning run with a triple in the eighth. “But if you slow up, that’s when injuries happen. I’ve never been hurt going all out.”

The Angels had 13 hits and ran their winning streak to five, erasing a two-run deficit with a four-run sixth and snapping a 4-4 tie with a two-run eighth. They continue to make base-running blunders and commit occasional errors, but fans seem to appreciate their effort.

“We have a genuine passion for the game, and that is definitely shining through,” said Shockey, who played last season for Duluth, Minn., of the independent Northern League. “Our immaturity shows, and we make mistakes, but we have a love for the game like we’ve been playing it for 30 years.”

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Who says you can’t teach an old pitcher new tricks? Angel right-hander Tony Mack, relying heavily on a split-fingered changeup that he learned only three weeks ago, gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings Sunday, further establishing himself as one of the team’s top pitchers.

“I’ve had nothing but success with the pitch,” said Mack, a 33-year-old whose only major league start, for the Angels in 1985, ended after 2 1/3 innings. “I’m surprised at how easy it is to throw. I used it on a few 2-1 and 3-1 counts today and got outs with it.”

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann and pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez said they haven’t decided on an opening-day pitcher, but if replacements start the season, that assignment would most likely go to either Mack or Darrel Akerfelds.

“I’m not really concerned about being the guy on opening day,” Mack said. “I just want to make the club and help the team win.”

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The Angels’ five-game win streak has owner Gene Autry excited. The 87-year-old, who has been in town since Friday, went to the Angel clubhouse after Sunday’s game to congratulate players and coaches.

“Damn, what did you guys decide to do, win the pennant?” Autry said. “That was a great game.”

Notes

The injury to Jose Peguero, perhaps the Angels’ most consistent all-around player, is worse than originally suspected. Peguero, who strained his left hamstring Saturday sliding into third, will be out for two to three weeks, according to Lewis Yocum, team physician. Peguero, who has played first base, third and shortstop, is batting .339 with eight RBIs and hasn’t made an error. . . . Milwaukee Brewer Manager Phil Garner has named former Dodger minor-leaguer Jamie McAndrew as his opening-day starter for the April 4 game against the Angels in Anaheim Stadium. . . . Pete Coachman, who likely will be the Angels’ starting third baseman now that Peguero is hurt, had two doubles and a single Sunday. Outfielder Pete Weber, who played at Canyon High and UC Riverside, had an RBI triple in the sixth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth, and former Esperanza standout Tom Redington had two hits.