Replacements Give Crowd a Major League Effort : Freeway series: 22,452 spectators see Angels beat Dodgers, 4-1, in game that has only one error, three walks and a diving catch.

They may never play in Anaheim Stadium again, so the replacement Angels figured they’d better savor the moment. When they were through beating the Dodgers, 4-1, in a Freeway Series game Friday night, they gathered in front of the dugout and tipped their caps to salute the 22,452 fans.

Believe it or not, the feeling was mutual.

Angel center fielder Chris Powell won the crowd over with a spectacular diving catch in the sixth inning, and fans so appreciated their efforts in the crisply played, 2-hour, 9-minute game, that they gave the Angels another standing ovation while fireworks erupted afterward.

“That sent a chill up my spine,” said Angel first baseman Tom Redington, the former Esperanza High star who tripled and scored in the fifth and added a two-run single in the sixth. “That made my career.”

Six Angel pitchers, including starter Tony Mack, combined to three-hit the Dodgers, who had a Grapefruit League-best 20-7 record, and there was only one error and three walks in the game.

Powell made a catch that any major leaguer would be proud of, sprinting back on Edwin Alicea’s drive to the gap in right center and making a fully extended, diving grab about 20 feet short of the wall.

“It was a do-or-die play,” said Powell, who played at nearby Edison High and Cal State Fullerton. “It was a lucky play, too.”

Powell earned a standing ovation after the catch and another upon his return to the dugout after the inning.

“Oh my God, that really made me feel at home,” said Powell, who played for the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Canaries of the independent Northern League last year. “If this is the only time I’m going to play here and I got two standing ovations . . . I really appreciate it. I didn’t expect that, because the fans didn’t know any of us.”

Said Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann: “That’s as good a play you’re going to see.”

Lachemann set the tone for the evening just after infield practice when he called players into the clubhouse for a meeting and informed them they’d be wearing the Angels’ home white jerseys for the game.

They had been wearing blue tops all spring and were expecting to wear them again Friday until Lachemann, coaches and front-office officials, in a show of support for the replacements, gave the green light to the whites.

“That got us all pumped up,” Redington said. “Everyone was pretty bummed that we weren’t going to wear the white tops, but when Lach told us to change, it got us excited and got rid of the butterflies.”

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the fifth when James Martin reached on third baseman Jose Peguero’s error and scored on Tony Fetchel’s wild pitch, but the Angels came back with a run on Greg Shockey’s single in the fifth and three runs in the sixth.

Fred Diaz tripled to start the sixth and scored on J.D. Ramirez’s single. Randy Hood singled, and both runners advanced on Matt Hergas’ wild pitch before scoring on Redington’s shot up the middle.

There’s a good chance major leaguers will return in the next few days, but the Angel replacements showed Friday night they are a class act.

“The tip of the caps after the game,” Angel Manager Bill Bavasi said, “that was the greatest.”