BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Gallagher Back as Flora Goes to Phillies

They have a double-digit lead in the American League West, but the Angels are not content. They continued to bolster their roster for the stretch run, trading for veteran outfielder Dave Gallagher.

The Angels on Wednesday sent Kevin Flora, a minor league utility player, to Philadelphia in exchange for Gallagher, 34. Gallagher, who batted .318 with one home run and 12 runs batted in in 62 games this season, is expected to join the Angels before the end of the week.

This will be his second stint with the Angels. He also played for the club in 1991, batting .293 in 90 games. Gallagher has also played for Cleveland, the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore, the New York Mets and Atlanta in eight seasons.

It’s likely that the Angels will send Orlando Palmeiro back to triple-A Vancouver. Gallagher’s role will be strictly as a backup.

The Angels stuck by Flora through some tough times. Flora sat out most of the 1993 season after the death of his wife in a car accident. The club told him to take as much time as he needed to recover emotionally.

He spent all of 1994 in the minors but was on the Angels’ opening-day roster this season. They sent him to Vancouver on May 10.

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Tony Phillips on his sore right hamstring: “It won’t be right until after the season gets over with. The left one is on full. The right one is on a quarter of a tank. Once that’s gone, I’m sputtering, out of gas.”

Phillips on serving a three-game suspension for his part in a June 8 fight with the Boston Red Sox: “In 13 years, I’ve never been suspended. I never did anything to cross anybody. Unless they crossed me.”