BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Too Many Georges Provide Confusion

It was a blooper that probably landed on sportscasts across the United States and Canada, and seeing as it didn’t leave any players in stitches--literally--the Angels could laugh about it too.

When Joe Carter’s seventh-inning pop up headed toward the Toronto dugout, pitcher Mark Langston, catcher Jorge Fabregas and third baseman George Arias converged to make the play.

But as Fabregas was about to make the catch, he collided with Langston, and the two players fell to the ground. Arias, navigating his way through the bodies, swooped in for the catch.

“I saw that it was an easier play for Arias, but just as I started to yell, ‘Geor. . . .,’ I realized there were two Georges,” Langston said. “I knew then I had to shut up real fast.”

“So I put out my arm to try to stop Jorge, he clipped my leg and we both fell over. But it’s a good thing that happened because it was Arias’ ball.”

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Catching was a major concern entering the season, and Fabregas and Don Slaught haven’t done much in the first six games to ally those fears. Opponents have been successful on all seven stolen base attempts, three by the Blue Jays in their 5-0 victory over the Angels.

“Teams have picked pretty good spots to run against us,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said, defending his catchers.

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Designated hitter Chili Davis ended an 0-for-14 skid with a second-inning single and added another single in the ninth inning. . . . Of Pat Hentgen’s 137 pitches Tuesday, 86 were strikes. The Blue Jay right-hander walked three and struck out six in his complete-game victory.