Angels Draw Royals’ Ace, Can’t Beat Him : Baseball: Appier gets 10th victory by beating California, 8-5. Davis injured.

Rick Burleson, Angel third-base coach, was counting the days on a giant wall schedule in the team’s clubhouse last week.

Kansas City Royal ace Kevin Appier had pitched Wednesday in Seattle and the Royals were using a four-man rotation, so he would pitch again Sunday in Oakland and miss the three-game series against the Angels this week.

Or so Burleson thought.

Burleson’s forecast took a turn for the worse Saturday, and by Monday night the storm cloud that is Appier was on the Anaheim Stadium mound, sticking it to the Angels again in an 8-5 Royal victory before an announced crowd of 14,150.

The loss might be costly for the Angels. Their top hitter, Chili Davis, stumbled over the first-base bag while beating out a fielder’s choice in the ninth inning and injured his leg.

Davis, who ranks second in the American League in batting (.359) and fourth in runs batted in (38), was diagnosed with a strained left hamstring and his status is day-to-day.

“The good news is he didn’t feel anything pop,” Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “The not-so-good news is there’s already swelling. We’ll probably know more in the next 48 hours.”

More good news for Lachemann: The Angels won’t have to face Appier in the next 48 hours.

Appier, the high-strung right-hander with an unorthodox motion, blazing fastball and nasty slider, wasn’t quite as dominating Monday as he had been May 13, when he pitched a three-hitter to beat the Angels, 4-2.

But he appeared in control, striking out eight during seven-plus innings in which he gave up three runs and nine hits.

Appier’s strong performance, which made him baseball’s first 10-game winner, was all the more important because Royal reliever Billy Brewer gave up two runs in the eighth, allowing the Angels to cut the deficit to 8-5. But Jeff Montgomery retired the final two batters in the ninth.

“You have to try to make him throw strikes and take what you can,” said Davis, who struck out twice and doubled in the eighth against Appier. “He can be wild, so if you go out and swing at everything he’s going to beat you.”

The Angels weren’t expecting to get him at all, but when Appier threw 141 pitches in his last start, Manager Bob Boone inserted Dennis Rasmussen into the rotation Saturday to give Appier an extra day’s rest.

Appier, who ranks second in the league in strikeouts (95) and earned-run average (2.19), pitched five scoreless innings Monday and had a four-run lead before J.T. Snow singled and scored on Garret Anderson’s triple in the sixth. Anderson scored on Damion Easley’s groundout to cut make it 4-2.

Angel starter Shawn Boskie (5-1) was even more impressive than Appier, but only for five innings. Jon Nunnally broke up his no-hitter with a triple down the right-field line to lead off the sixth, and Edgar Caceres ended his shutout bid with an RBI double to right.

Brent Mayne singled Caceres to third, Caceres scored on Goodwin’s fielder’s choice, and Wally Joyner followed with a two-run home run, which gave Kansas City a 4-0 lead and ended Boskie’s evening.

“I felt kind of sick [with flu symptoms] going into the game,” said Boskie, who failed in his bid to become the first pitcher in Angel history to start 6-0. “And I felt my best going into the sixth inning. It’s funny how those things work out.”

The Angels came right back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Royals added four in the eighth off middle relievers Mike Butcher and Russ Springer, the final three coming on rookie Jeff Grotewold’s three-run home run off Springer. Joyner also had an RBI single in the inning.

Davis led off the eighth with his double off Appier and Snow walked off Brewer. Pinch-hitter Spike Owen lined a two-run double and Gary DiSarcina followed with an RBI single to make it 8-5.