BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Percival Surpasses Expectations

He’s a rookie, a promising young player who has turned heads and made the Angels better.

No, not Garret Anderson, although he certainly fits that description. It’s reliever Troy Percival.

Quietly, with far less notice than Anderson, Percival has surpassed the Angels’ expectations.

“We thought he’d be good, but he’s probably been the best in the league as far as setting it up,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said.

Percival, who had a 0.63 earned-run average with three saves and a 1-0 record in the last 35 games before Saturday; and Lee Smith, who has 31 saves, form one of the best bullpen combinations in the major leagues.

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On Turn Back the Clock Night at Anaheim Stadium, Lachemann recalled going to see the 1961 Angels play at Wrigley Field on 42nd and Avalon in Los Angeles.

He had played there in winter-league games growing up. He even shagged balls on the late-1950s game show “Home Run Derby,” which was filmed there.

When the Angels called up former USC teammate Tom Satriano late in the ’61 season, Lachemann became a regular at Wrigley Field.

“They had a good team,” Lachemann said of the club that finished 70-91. “They were pretty tough for a first-year team.”

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Mark Langston’s next start will be pushed back a day or more to give him some extra rest. Chuck Finley, Jim Abbott and Brian Anderson are scheduled to pitch Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday against the New York Yankees. . . . Shawn Boskie, out with tendinitis in his elbow since July 16, is expected to be activated Sept. 1, when rosters expand to 40. . . . Mike Bielecki, out because of shoulder tendinitis since July 18, will pitch in relief for triple-A Vancouver today, then possibly make one more rehab appearance before he’s activated on Sept. 1. He will probably move to the bullpen.