BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Percival Gets Work in Lost Cause

The Angels are in such a rut that Manager Marcel Lachemann used his best relief pitcher, Troy Percival, in a mop-up situation Saturday just to prevent atrophy in Percival’s arm.

Percival has had no save opportunities recently and the scoreless ninth inning he pitched in a 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees was his first appearance since last Sunday, when he gave up three homers in a loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Percival’s last save--his 11th of the season--was May 3, more than two weeks ago, and he has pitched only four times since, none in save situations.

“It’s been kind of tough to get out there, but we’ll come around,” Percival said. “I hate losing, and I’m real tired of this. But it’s going to change, and when it does, it’s going to change drastically.”

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One bright spot for the Angels Saturday was pitcher Shad Williams, who gave up only four hits in 4 2/3 innings in his major league debut.

Williams was charged with six runs--two of them earned--but Matt Howard’s RBI single in the fifth barely made it over shortstop Randy Velarde’s head, and Paul O’Neill’s two-run double in the fifth was a flare to shallow left that Garret Anderson almost caught.

Lachemann, who said Williams will remain in the rotation, was pleased with the way the right-hander got out of the third inning, when he struck out O’Neill, the league’s No. 2 batter, and cleanup hitter Tino Martinez with a runner on third base.

“I guess I was pretty happy with the way things went,” Williams, 25, said.

“I was nervous all [Friday] night and leading up to the game, but once I got out there, I was pretty much relaxed.”

He was in the middle of a tense situation in the first inning, though. O’Neill glared at Williams after being hit with a pitch and was escorted to first by umpire John Hirschbeck.

“But I think he was giving me the rookie treatment,” Williams said. “The pitch got away. It wasn’t intentional.”

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Anderson said he lost O’Neill’s fifth-inning flare in the Yankee Stadium lights, which were on Saturday afternoon because of overcast skies. “I saw it off the bat, lost it, then picked it up when it started coming back down,” Anderson said. Had Anderson made the catch he could have turned it into an inning-ending double play, because Yankee runners on first and second ran with the pitch. But two runs scored, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead and prolonging their six-run inning. . . . Left-handed reliever Brad Pennington, claimed off waivers Friday, threw a scoreless sixth inning in his Angel debut Saturday. . . . The Angels should catch a break today because Yankee right-hander Dwight Gooden, who pitched a no-hitter Tuesday against Seattle and originally was scheduled to pitch against the Angels, has been pushed back in the rotation. Instead, right-hander Scott Kamieniecki will face Chuck Finley in today’s series finale.