Rogers Is Too Good for Angels : Baseball: Chili Davis keeps hitting, but Texas pitcher shuts them out for eight innings in 6-2 Ranger victory.

Chili Davis was one of the lucky ones Thursday. The Angel designated hitter vented some of his frustration with Texas Ranger pitcher Kenny Rogers, lining a single past his ear in the second inning and singling off him again in the sixth.

The rest of the Angels spent Thursday afternoon cursing on their return to the dugout, wondering how the left-hander, who pitched a perfect game against them last July 28, was again able to baffle them during the Rangers’ 6-2 victory before an announced crowd of 12,728 in Anaheim Stadium.

And when it was over, after Rogers had thrown eight shutout innings to extend his scoreless-inning streak against the Angels to 24 and win his fifth consecutive decision over them, Davis spoke for his teammates.

“He beat us, 2-1, and threw a perfect game against us last year and now this,” Davis said. “It ticks me off. I saw him when he came into the league (in 1989), and he didn’t have a clue where he was throwing the ball. But someone has taught him how to pitch.”

Rogers, mixing two kinds of fastballs with his curve and changeup, walked five but gave up only four hits and struck out four. The Rangers turned three double plays behind him--they had four overall--and supported him with six runs in the first four innings.

The Angels had runners on first and third bases with no outs in the second inning but didn’t score, and they weren’t able to break up the shutout until they scored two runs against reliever Roger McDowell in the ninth.

“He seems to be able to throw all his pitches for strikes against us,” Angel first baseman J.T. Snow said of Rogers (2-2). “And when he goes through the lineup, he pitches you different the second and third time around.”

Subbing for injured Brian Anderson, Angel starter Russ Springer, who has had little success in five relief appearances, gave up five runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann wrestled with whether to start Springer or Mike Bielecki on Thursday, and Bielecki’s performance--he yielded only one hit and one run in 4 1/3 relief innings--probably had Lachemann second-guessing himself all the way to Kansas City on Thursday night.

“Russ wasn’t very good--he got too many balls up in the strike zone,” Lachemann said. “But Bielecki was excellent. He spotted his fastball and had a good forkball and slider.”

Asked if Springer would get another start, Lachemann said, “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Springer’s future with the Angels was cloudy even before Thursday’s game. He had given up three home runs and seven earned runs in four innings of relief for a 15.75 earned-run average, and with teams forced to cut from 28 to 25 players by Monday, he seems a prime candidate for a demotion to triple-A Vancouver.

When Springer came to Anaheim from the New York Yankees as part of the 1992 Jim Abbott deal, he was touted as a hard-throwing youngster with the potential to join the Angels’ starting rotation. But he since has failed to impress them and might be running out of chances to do so this season.

“I was having trouble with my mechanics in spring training and early this season, but everything felt right today,” Springer, 26, said. “It just didn’t happen. We’ve done all the work we can do as far as coaching. Now I have to go out there and make the pitches.”

Davis had three singles and a walk Thursday to extend his consecutive-hits streak to eight, tying a team record, and his consecutive on-base string to 10, two shy of Bobby Grich’s team record. He hasn’t lost faith in Springer.

“He has very good stuff, but he’s still going through that phase where he’s learning how to use it,” Davis said. “Once he learns how to put his fastball where he wants it, he’ll be successful.”

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Red-Hot Chili

A look at Chili Davis’ on-base streak, which stands at 10: TUESDAY vs. TEXAS * 7th inning: walk WEDNESDAY vs. TEXAS * 1st inning: double * 3rd inning: single * 4th inning: 3-run homer * 6th inning: single * 8th inning: single THURSDAY vs. TEXAS * 2nd inning: single * 3rd inning: walk * 6th inning: single * 9th inning: single Team record: 12, by Bobby Grich, Sept. 14-17, 1984. AL and major league record: 16, by Ted Williams, Boston, Sept. 17-23, 1957. Chili Davis