Angels Go 10 Innings, Beat A’s, 8-7

The season is a week old, but already the Angel offense is getting caught in a numbers crunch--through six games it ranked last in the American League in batting (.202), runs scored (18), hits per game (6.5) and runs batted in (16).

Wednesday night’s Game 7 lineup, including Spike Owen (.000), Rex Hudler (.000) and Andy Allanson (.083), didn’t inspire much confidence that the Angels would break through.

But there the Angels were in the bottom of the 10th, celebrating an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics thanks, in part, to Owen, who had three hits, including a ground-rule double to key the game-winning rally in the bottom of the 10th.

Tony Phillips had singled to center with one out, and Owen lofted a fly ball down the right-field line that bounced on the warning track and into the bleachers, putting runners on second and third against reliever Carlos Reyes.

Jim Edmonds then slapped a single through the shortstop hole of a drawn-in infield to give the Angels--and reliever Mike Butcher--the victory before an announced paid attendance of 12,864 in Anaheim Stadium. It was Butcher’s third victory.

The Angels had rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning when Chili Davis lined a single to center and Tim Salmon followed with a homer to deep left to put a little charge back into the struggling Angel offense and cut Oakland’s lead to 7-6.

Then Phillips lined a single to center to score pinch-runner Kevin Flora with the tying run in the bottom of the eighth. The Angels finished with 13 hits, perhaps putting some of Manager Marcel Lachemann’s fears about the offense to rest.

“I’m concerned that we’re not putting the ball in play more,” Lachemann said before the game. “It’s early in the year, so we just have to keep working, keep grinding.

“There’s no shortcuts. We just have to keep coming out for early hitting, and we need to do a little better on pitch selection. You don’t have to swing at every strike.”

The Angels’ struggling offense may not be Lachemann’s only concern, though. Two Angels seemed to lose their concentration in an embarrassing sixth inning.

First, center fielder Jim Edmonds fielded a single by Rickey Henderson with runners on second and third.

It appeared Edmonds would have a shot at throwing Mike Gallego out at home, but he bobbled the ball and Gallego scored easily, giving Oakland a 7-4 lead. Edmonds made a rainbow throw back to the infield that went well over the head of cutoff man J.T. Snow.

Then reliever Russ Springer struck out Stan Javier, and catcher Andy Allanson flipped the ball over Javier’s head toward the mound and began jogging to the dugout.

It was only the second out. A sheepish Allanson returned to his position. But Lachemann replaced him with Jorge Fabregas to start the next inning.

Despite some light hitting, the Angels at least deserved some points for offensive efficiency Wednesday. They scored three runs in the first inning on one hit--Phillips’ bloop single that dropped in front of Henderson down the left-field line.

Davis and Salmon each walked with two out, and Snow grounded a ball to the shortstop hole, where Mike Bordick fielded it but threw it past Gallego at second base.

The ball rolled all the way to the wall down the right-field line, giving Phillips, Davis and Salmon time to score for a 3-0 Angel advantage.

But Angel starter Mark Langston struggled with his control--he walked six in a 4 2/3-inning stint that required 94 pitches--and couldn’t hold the lead.

Ruben Sierra’s double to the left-field corner scored Henderson, who had walked, and Javier, who had reached on a fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 3-2.

Henderson later walked with one out in the fifth, and after Javier’s fielder’s choice and a walk to Sierra, Oakland first baseman Mark McGwire homered to left for a 5-3 lead.

Lachemann replaced Langston with Mike Bielecki, who allowed an infield single to Craig Pauquette and hit Gallego with a pitch in the sixth. Both eventually scored on Henderson’s hit to make it 7-4.