A Grim Night for Twins

Saturday afternoon, Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann was talking about pitchers with good arms who bounce around the major leagues, getting lots of chances to live up to their potential.

“Sometimes, it just takes a pitcher a long time to click,” he said, “but when a guy like that clicks, you’ve really got something.”

Saturday night, there was a distinct clicking sound in Anaheim Stadium, a noise that probably reverberated all the way back to places such as Philadelphia, Houston and Cleveland.

Jason Grimsley, who had pitched in parts of six major league seasons before becoming an Angel in the Feb. 15 trade that sent Brian Anderson to the Indians, took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Minnesota before settling for a three-hitter as the Angels won their fifth in a row with a 5-2 victory in front of an announced crowd of 29,624.

The three hits were a career low for Grimsley and the complete game was only the second of his career.

“I thought about the no-hitter after the sixth, that feeling would probably be great,” Grimsley said, “but in the seventh, all I thought was, ‘You’ve got to win this ballgame.’ ”

His bid for a no-hitter ended with one out in the seventh, when former Angel catcher Greg Myers cued a 2-1 delivery down the left-field line for a double. When left fielder Garret Anderson overthrew second, Myers advanced to third and Grimsley’s chance for a shutout ended when the next batter, Dave Hollins, hit a high bouncer to third to score Myers.

Rich Becker doubled in the eighth and Myers hit a two-out homer in the ninth, but “a victory is plenty to savor for any pitcher,” Grimsley said.

For Grimsley, 28, a right-hander, a start in the majors is plenty to savor. He had made his first big-league start since 1994 when he replaced Shawn Boskie in the starting rotation April 20. He’s given up five earned runs in three starts and has a 2.05 earned-run average.

“Two years ago in Cleveland, I had it going pretty good, but then I didn’t get too many chances to pitch and I guess I lost my feel for the mound,” said Grimsley, who was 13-18 with a 4.75 ERA in the majors before this season.

Clearly, he’s in groove now, but then the Angels, who have won 11 of 13 games at home this season, seem to be making all the right moves lately.

Slumping rookie George Arias got a night off and veteran Tim Wallach made his third start of the season at third base. Lachemann said before the game it was as much a case of keeping Wallach active as it was benching Arias, but Wallach didn’t appear very rusty.

His two-out single to left in the second inning scored Chili Davis, who opened the inning with a double when left fielder Marty Cordova misjudged his fly ball and it sailed over his head. Denny Hocking made up for Cordova’s miscue, making a spectacular over-the-shoulder snag of a drive off the bat of Jorge Fabregas. Hocking somehow hung onto the ball as he crashed head first into the right-field wall to end the inning.

Wallach drove home the Angels’ second run in the fourth inning when he followed walks to Davis and J.T. Snow with a single to center.

The Angels went ahead, 4-0, in the sixth when Snow and Anderson hit their first homers of the season at Anaheim Stadium, back-to-back shots to right-center. And Davis hit a home run to center off former Cal State Fullerton standout Dan Naulty in the eighth inning.