Velarde Saw Team Hit From the Other Dugout

Second baseman Randy Velarde has vivid memories of the 1995 Angels, a team that shred his former New York Yankee team in a three-game series last May by a combined score of 28-3. He’d sure like to see that kind of Angel team resurface now.

“Slumping can be contagious,” Velarde said. “These guys flat-out hit last year--there was no lead you felt comfortable with against them--but it’s just a matter of time before we start hitting. There’s no real explanation for it--this is just one of those streaks you have to go through.”

Velarde finally ended his hitless streak, which reached 12 before his third-inning double to right-center Saturday. Velarde also had a two-run double to left in the fourth, which gave the Angels a 3-0 lead, and a single in the eighth.

“This gave me a good confidence boost, but I still don’t feel real comfortable yet,” said Velarde, who has been slowed by patella tendinitis in both knees. “I’ve never been a good April hitter [he has a .246 career average in the month]. That’s no excuse, but you need a few at-bats under your belt before you can get into a groove.”

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Inclement weather forced the Angels to cancel batting practice in Tiger Stadium for the second consecutive day, giving players a little too much time to kill before the game.

Catcher Don Slaught was so bored he began rearranging the scrabble-type letters on nameplates above Angel lockers, and Chili Davis, Scott Sanderson and Mark Langston soon joined in, creating anagrams for every player and coach.

Among the best, at least, those that are printable: SLUG HAT (Slaught), OH WELL (Howell), ALL CHAW (Wallach), NY LIFE (Finley) and SLO MAN (Salmon).

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A writer chatting with third-base umpire Rich Garcia before the game mentioned that, through Friday night’s games, not one balk had been called in the American League. “That’s pretty surprising,” said Garcia, who proceeded to call two balks on Scott Sanderson on Saturday. . . . Detroit first baseman Cecil Fielder’s two-run homer off Sanderson in the fourth inning was his sixth of the season, which leads the major leagues. Melvin Nieves followed that with a bases-empty homer to right, and Tiger catcher Mark Parent hit a two-run homer off reliever Mark Eichhorn in the sixth inning. Former Long Beach State standout Chris Gomez capped Detroit’s scoring with a two-run single off Dennis Springer in the eighth. Angel first baseman J.T. Snow had two hits, including an RBI single in the ninth.