Angels’ Offense Is Producing When It Counts

You don’t win without scoring runs, particularly so in the American League, known for homer-friendly parks and watered-down pitching.

This year, perhaps more than any time since winning the 1986 AL West, the Angels have taken that concept to heart.

Going into Sunday’s game, the Angels were averaging 5.47 runs per game. That pace projects to 787 runs over a 144-game schedule, which would be the most by an Angel team since 1986, when they scored 786.

Startling when you realize no Angel team has scored 700 or more runs in a 162-game schedule since 1988.

Hitting coach Rod Carew, who has seven batting titles and a .328 lifetime average, attributes the Angels’ resurgence in part to the maturation of the younger players, and the guidance and work ethic of the veterans.

That, and a willingness to do the things it takes to win.

“The team is executing better,” Carew said. “When they don’t I remind them of it. You don’t want them to get complacent about the opportunity of moving the runners or driving in runs. Every run is important; if you can’t drive it in, you try to get the run closer to being driven in. And they’ve been good at that.

Carew has had several early success stories.

Gary DiSarcina is batting nearly 70 points above his lifetime .242 average. “He’s the one I’m most excited about; he works at it and has blossomed into the hitter no one thought he would be,” Carew said.

Jim Edmonds extended his hitting streak Sunday to 14 games, and has taken his average from .229 to .280. J.T. Snow has hit for average and power. Tim Salmon has shown no drop off from his first two seasons.

Mix in the steadiness of Chili Davis, Tony Phillips and Spike Owen, and the Angels have concocted a team brew much more potent than expected.

Before Sunday’s game, the Angels ranked third overall in runs scored, with 263 runs in 48 games. (Cleveland had scored 276 in 46 games, and Oakland had scored 266 in 49 games.) But there were other impressive Angel totals among the American League stats.

Consider:

* The team’s 255 runs batted in were bettered only by Cleveland’s (264).

* The Angels’ 219 walks were second to Detroit (223).

* The Angels were tied for second in on-base percentage (.361) and second in slugging percentage (.446).

The players agree the collective effort already has carried them a long way, and might carry them further than anyone could have believed.

“We’re not relying on just one or two guys for production,” Snow said. “Guys have been getting big hits every night. The fun thing is you never know who’s going to do it.”