BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Pennington Leaves Them Guessing

Angel reliever Brad Pennington admits he used to be “screen-rattling” wild, and the statistics support him--the left-hander led the Appalachian League with 14 wild pitches in 1989 and walked 121 at Class-A Wausau, Wis., in 1990.

But those rumors that Pennington once walked 11 batters in a row in a minor league game “might be a little far-fetched,” Pennington said. “But you can write it anyway.”

What does he care? It’s tough to downplay that reputation, so Pennington, 27, uses it to his advantage. If batters think he’s a little wild, maybe they’ll be back on their heels a bit in the box.

Though Pennington’s walk totals have been high, so have his strikeouts. Pennington, who has a herky-jerky motion, struck out 142 in the same season he walked 121.

“I know my walk totals are high, and it’s a problem,” said Pennington, who was claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox last week. “But if you watch me pitch, I’m not as wild as I was before. I’m around the plate a lot more.”

As for the 11 consecutive walks, Pennington did set the record straight. As a member of Baltimore’s triple-A team at Rochester, he once walked 11 batters over a three-day period in the equivalent of one inning pitched.

And the legend grew.

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Angel second baseman Rex Hudler on Tuesday night became the 35th player in major league history to lead off two consecutive games with homers. Brady Anderson, Baltimore’s leadoff hitter, set the record with homers to lead off four straight games April 18-21. . . . Mark Langston, Mike James, J.T. Snow and Jorge Fabregas will appear at autograph sessions before Sunday’s game against the Red Sox at Anaheim Stadium. The players will appear from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. outside Gate 1 and inside Gate 1, 2 and 4.