BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Smith Rushes to Work, Wild Ending

Lee Smith, whose trips from the bullpen to the mound have taken an average 1 minute 20 seconds, jogged in during the ninth inning Sunday, making it to the mound in a season-low 47 seconds.

What’s the hurry? Smith had to catch a 6:30 p.m. flight to Louisiana so he could spend today’s off day “fishing and playing with my rug rats.”

Smith, who started the ninth in each of his 10 previous appearances, inherited runners for the first time. He gave up an infield single to Frank Thomas to load the bases and caught Warren Newson looking at a third strike for the second out.

Robin Ventura then looped an RBI single to right, and Tim Raines, who was on second, was almost thrown out at home after a base-running gaffe that might make the bloopers reel.

Raines, thinking right fielder Tim Salmon had caught Ventura’s hit for the third out, stopped between third and home. Salmon threw to second baseman Damion Easley, and only when Easley relayed a throw home did Raines speed up and slide under the high throw.

The ball got past catcher Andy Allanson and allowed the runners to advance to second and third, but Smith got Craig Grebeck to fly to center for the game’s last out and his 10th save.

“I thought he was trying to bait Damion into making a throw, but I guess he thought Tim caught the ball and the game was over,” Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann said of Raines. “Either it was a brilliant play or a bad mistake.”

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The Angel bullpen struggled Sunday, giving up five runs in the last two innings. Troy Percival gave up three runs on two hits and walked two in an inning, Mike Butcher gave up two runs in an inning, and Bob Patterson gave up an RBI single to his only batter.

But there was one bright spot. Kind of. Mitch Williams, entering with the bases loaded in the eighth, walked Mike Devereaux to force in a run and gave up a sacrifice fly to Ray Durham.

He was then replaced by Butcher, but the fly ball marked the first time Williams had retired a batter since May 12, a span covering his last three appearances and seven batters faced.

“I got an out!” Williams said. “I almost moonwalked off the field.”

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The Comiskey Park organist played “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” in the top of the sixth inning Sunday, but the way the White Sox are playing, it was hard to tell whether it was because J.T. Snow was up or if folks are already looking forward to the off-season.

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All four AL West teams won Sunday for the second consecutive day. Don’t look now, but the AL West, considered the worst division at the start of the season, is the only division in which all teams are better than .500. . . . Former Angel Bo Jackson, who retired last winter, was a post-game visitor in the Angel clubhouse. . . . Pitcher Brian Anderson, on the disabled list because of a strained left quadriceps, did not throw Sunday because his arm was sore, and it’s doubtful he’ll be able to return to the rotation this weekend, as was hoped.