Scoring Is Easy for Angels

The here-we-go-again-merry-go-round Angel offense put on a matinee performance Sunday for the folks in Anaheim Stadium, who seemed rather bored by it all. All this run-scoring is getting to be mundane, maybe even bordering on obnoxious.

How about a game where the winner hasn’t been decided by the third inning?

The Angels and Tigers went through the motions for more than two hours after the Angels took an 8-0 lead in the third inning, but the drama for the people in the announced crowd of 18,948 was pretty much reduced to whether they’d get a swipe at a beach ball.

The Angels, who are leading the American League West by a season-high six games after Sunday’s 13-2 drubbing of Detroit, aren’t the least bit bored, of course. They’re too busy enjoying their newly discovered role as bully of the Western bloc, admiring their increasingly puffed-up statistics and daydreaming about negotiating their next contract.

The most prolific run-scoring team in baseball, the Angels are now trudging across home plate at an amazing rate. They have scored at least 10 runs in five of the last eight games and all of those double-digit victories were blowouts. The narrowest margin of victory being seven runs.

“Man, they’re going to have to bring some more dirt in here,” pitcher Chuck Finley said. “We’re starting to wear a rut in the infield. We’re scoring runs like a beer-league softball team, without the benefit of the keg.”

Sunday, the beat went on . . . and on . . . and on.

Everybody in the lineup with the exception of right fielder Tim Salmon scored and he had a single and a double and drove in two runs. Rex Hudler’s solo homer in the fourth marked the 12th game in a row that the Angels have hit a ball over the fence. Center fielder Jim Edmonds, who during spring training predicted he could hit maybe “15 or even 20” homers, slammed No. 20 in the seventh inning, his third in two days. And Garret Anderson, who has 14 RBIs in seven games against Detroit, hit a two-run shot to right in the eighth.

Over that 12-game stretch, the Angels have hit 26 homers.

Manager Marcel Lachemann keeps talking about contagious hitting, but Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson says this prolonged Angel offensive explosion is more than a roll.

“Any team that’s leading both leagues in scoring this late in July, that’s not momentum,” Anderson said. “They’re just beating up on people.”

Sparky should know, the Angels have outscored Detroit, 65-27, in the past 10 days.

Left-hander Mark Langston held the Tigers scoreless for 7 2/3 innings Sunday before giving up a walk and three singles with two outs in the eighth. It was too late to cheer for a fifth set, so the fans offered a Bronx cheer for the Tigers and a standing ovation for Langston when Lachemann pulled him in favor of Troy Percival.

“I’ve played a long time, but I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” said Langston, who improved his record to 9-1. “I have never seen an offense turn it on like this night after night. And it’s not just Chili [Davis] and Timmy [Salmon] like it has been in the past, it’s everybody.”

The Angels scored twice in the first inning on four singles and a walk. They left the bases loaded, but didn’t have long to bemoan the missed opportunity.

Eleven Angels walked from the on-deck circle to the plate in the third and six of them circled the bases and crossed it on their way back to the dugout. Davis started it with his second of three walks, Tony Phillips and Greg Myers also walked, J.T. Snow and Gary DiSarcina singled and Anderson and Salmon had doubles.

Langston didn’t get to see all of the action, however. He was back in the clubhouse running laps to keep sweating. And that’s only one of the drawbacks of the Angels’ wont to score early and often.

“I pitched poorly with big leads early this year because I lost my concentration,” Langston said. “Today, I tried really hard to maintain my focus and push myself to make sure every pitch had a purpose.”

Still, it’s hard to bear down when your teammates are giddy with success.

“Yeah, this is really a blast,” Langston said. “I don’t think there’s a guy on this team who isn’t having a great time.”

That’s a safe bet. Just check the standings, then the box score. There’s nothing but rave reviews all the way around.

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Angels on a Run

The Angels have had some big games, and big innings, of late. Here’s a rundown of their past 12 victories

Date Opponent Score Biggest Inning July 4 Toronto 14-0 Five runs in sixth inning July 6 Toronto 10-1 Seven runs in third inning July 8 Milwaukee 1-0 One run in second inning July 13 Detroit 8-5 Three runs in 10th inning July 14 Detroit 7-3 Three runs in second, sixth innings July 16 Detroit 6-4 Four runs in eighth inning July 16 Detroit 13-6 Five runs in first inning July 17 Cleveland 8-3 Four runs in seventh inning July 19 Toronto 10-2 Six runs in second inning July 20 Toronto 10-3 Six runs in first inning July 22 Detroit 13-3 Five runs in third inning July 23 Detroit 13-2 Six runs in third inning