Different Look to Batting Order

Manager Marcel Lachemann said he would consider shaking up the lineup after Sunday’s loss in Chicago, but Monday night’s batting order looked like it had gone through a Cuisinart.

Catcher Don Slaught, who normally bats eighth when he starts, hit second. Right fielder Tim Salmon dropped from the third to fifth spot. First baseman J.T. Snow fell from fifth to eighth, left fielder Garret Anderson fell from sixth to seventh, and center fielder Jim Edmonds and third baseman George Arias fell out of the starting lineup entirely.

“I totally agree with it,” said designated hitter Chili Davis, one of the few Angels who has been hitting lately. “Sometimes it takes a move like this to get things going, as long as it’s done for the right reasons and you’re not panicking.”

Lachemann, however, said there was some method to this madness. Arias (sore wrist) and Edmonds (sore arm) were held out because of nagging injuries, and he wanted the right-handed Rex Hudler, who had three hits, ahead of the left-handed Anderson because Chicago started left-hander Wilson Alvarez.

But Snow’s descent was definitely a demotion. Though he had two hits Monday night, he’s batting .256 with no homers and seven RBIs in 82 at-bats.

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Of the Angels’ 11 strikeouts Monday night, five were on called third strikes. . . . The White Sox starters are 8-0 with a 2.99 ERA in the past 11 games, and the relievers have not given up a run in the last 13 innings.