One Big Swing of the Bat Does the Trick for Davis : Baseball: Indians fool him in the fifth inning, but grand slam in the third is big hit in 6-3 victory.

Cleveland pitcher Dennis Martinez tricked Chili Davis on Wednesday, setting up as if he were going to walk the Angels’ designated hitter intentionally in the fifth inning before zipping a fastball past him for strike three.

It wasn’t much of a comeback, though. The Indians’ vengeful act of subterfuge may land Davis on baseball’s blooper reel, but it was Davis who had already provided the game’s biggest scoring blow, a third-inning grand slam that keyed the Angels’ 6-3 victory before a paid 35,650 at Anaheim Stadium.

“They tricked me that one at-bat, but that’s OK,” Davis said. “It won’t ever happen again. [Indian catcher Tony] Pena had a little smile on his face, but that’s all right. The same thing that makes you laugh is going to make you cry.”

Davis did a little of both as the Angels (50-33) took two of three games from Cleveland this week and won the season series from baseball’s best team, 3-2.

They beat Cleveland’s ace Wednesday, pounding Martinez (9-1) for six runs and seven hits to hand him his first loss of the season.

Martinez was at the All-Star game in Arlington, Tex., earlier this month. The winning pitcher Wednesday was a guy who was out of a job a week and a half ago.

Mike Harkey, a former Cal State Fullerton standout released by the Oakland Athletics and picked off the waiver wire as an emergency starter, went six innings, giving up three runs and eight hits, to win in his second Angel start.

The right-hander wasn’t so impressive that the Angels will call off their search for another starter--he gave up long home runs to Paul Sorrento (fourth inning) and Jim Thome (sixth)--but as Manager Marcel Lachemann said, “He gave us what we wanted,” meaning six decent innings and a chance to win the game.

Tony Phillips had an RBI single in the five-run third, and Davis added an RBI groundout with the bases loaded in the seventh, missing a chance to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in the same game.

Relievers Bob Patterson, John Habyan and Lee Smith (24th save) combined to shut out the Indians in the last three innings.

And shortstop Gary DiSarcina made a big play, back-handing Albert Belle’s tough-hop grounder and throwing him out with two on in the seventh.

Soon after Smith retired three in a row in the ninth for his second save in as many days, the Angels headed for Milwaukee brimming with confidence.

“I think we’re pretty even with Cleveland,” DiSarcina said. “There’s still a long way to go, but without a doubt, we can play with them. They know it, and now we know it. Sometimes it takes a series like this to prove to yourself that you’re a good ballclub, and we did.”

The Indians won Monday night’s game, 9-7, with a two-run 10th inning. The Angels scored an exciting 6-5 victory Tuesday night and came back strong Wednesday. The teams split a two-game series in Cleveland last week, the Indians winning on Belle’s grand slam in the bottom of the ninth.

“I was talking with Thome, and it seems every time we play them it gets more and more fun,” DiSarcina said.

That’s one lesson Davis learned Wednesday. With Tim Salmon on third, one out and a full count on Davis, Pena, after consulting with Martinez, extended his left arm, signaling for an intentional walk in the fifth inning.

Davis relaxed, anticipating ball four, but as Martinez released the pitch, Pena slipped back into a crouch for a fastball that caught the inside corner for strike three.

Davis wasn’t the first victim of such a fake-and-bake. Oakland reliever Rollie Fingers pulled it off against Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench in the 1972 World Series. But it was the first time anything like that had happened to Davis, 35.

“I got suckered, but it’s cool, man,” Davis said. “It ticked me off at first, but it’s fine, I’m too old to get upset about those things.

“They used up their bag of tricks at the wrong time. If this was the playoffs, it would have been huge. But you learn that you can’t take anything for granted, and you can’t lose concentration in a game, because when you do, something comes up and bites you in the butt.”

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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 14 victories

Date Opponent Res. Biggest Inning July 4 Toronto 14-0 Five runs in sixth inning. July 6 Toronto 10-1 Seven runs in third. July 8 Milwaukee 1-0 One run in second. July 13 Detroit 8-5 Three runs in 10th. July 14 Detroit 7-3 Three runs in second, sixth. July 16 Detroit 6-4 Four runs in eighth. July 16 Detroit 13-6 Five runs in first. July 17 Cleveland 8-3 Four runs in seventh. July 19 Toronto 10-2 Six runs in second. July 20 Toronto 10-3 Six runs in first. July 22 Detroit 13-3 Five runs in third. July 23 Detroit 13-2 Six runs in third. July 25 Cleveland 6-5 Two runs in second, third. July 26 Cleveland 6-3 Five runs in third.