Slaught Is Mr. Clutch for Angels

He was a spring-training cast-off, an aging afterthought when the Angels signed him, but Tuesday night Don Slaught was a hero, the recipient of a standing ovation from an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 19,213 that couldn’t seem to get enough of the crusty old catcher.

Slaught drove in the tying run in the sixth inning and the winning run in the eighth to give the Angels a 5-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. It was the Angels’ ninth come-from-behind victory in their last 10 games.

Slaught, 37, who has been released three times in the last six years, who has been on the disabled list nine times in his 14-year career, who describes himself as “just an average player,” now leads the Angels with a .341 average.

He has six home runs and 25 runs batted in despite starting only 35 games. And he is the Angels’ best clutch hitter, with a .405 average and 17 RBIs with runners in scoring position. Included in that statistic is a .500 mark (9 for 18) and eight RBIs with runners in scoring position and two outs.

“I’m not real flashy, I’m not a player who has exceptional talent, I’m not going to hit a lot of home runs, and I’m not going to carry a team or anything,” said Slaught, whose 10th-inning RBI single helped defeat the White Sox Monday night. “But I think I’ve gotten better with age.”

The Angels spent all winter pursuing free-agent catcher Joe Oliver, who eventually signed with the Cincinnati Reds because the Angels couldn’t fork over enough money.

Slaught opened spring training with the Reds but asked for his release after Oliver signed, and the Angels, looking for a veteran backup for starter Jorge Fabregas, picked up Slaught with such little expectations that they issued him uniform No. 90 in camp.

But Slaught has been the Angels’ biggest and most pleasant offensive surprise, taking over the bulk of the catching duties and emerging as one of the team’s top hitters.

Slaught, who went three for three and is hitting .375 (9 for 24) in his last six games, capped a three-run, sixth-inning rally Tuesday night, with a two-out RBI single to right off White Sox starter James Baldwin to tie the score, 3-3.

The teams exchanged runs in the seventh, Chicago’s coming on Frank Thomas’ RBI double and the Angels’ on Tim Salmon’s ninth homer in the last 15 games.

But after Gary DiSarcina opened the eighth with a double to right-center and took third on Darin Erstad’s grounder to first, Slaught singled to right off reliever Bill Simas for a 5-4 lead, bringing the Angel fans to their feet.

“I can’t say enough about him, the way he’s caught, handled the pitching staff, and obviously his hitting has been awesome,” said Manager Marcel Lachemann, who broke through a group of reporters to high-five Slaught in front of his locker. “He’s a tough out. He just doesn’t give in.”

Troy Percival pitched a scoreless ninth for his 19th save, preserving the victory for Chuck Finley. Finley gave up four runs on eight hits in eight innings to improve to 9-4, the best start of his career. He is 7-0 in nine Anaheim Stadium starts since losing to Milwaukee in the season opener.

White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura did much of the damage against Finley, getting a single and scoring on Darren Lewis’ second-inning groundout. He also homered in the fourth--his third in as many games. Norberto Martin singled in the fifth, took second on a balk and scored on Thomas’ single to make it 3-0.

Baldwin blanked the Angels for five innings, but four singles and a well-placed sacrifice bunt in the sixth led to three Angel runs and a 3-3 tie.

J.T. Snow led off with a single and Tim Wallach, who went three for four, followed with a bloop single to center. Randy Velarde then lined an RBI single to center, and Wallach took third when Lewis, the White Sox center fielder, bobbled the ball.

DiSarcina dropped a bunt down the first-base line, but when Thomas tossed to Baldwin for the out at first, Wallach broke for the plate and scored, bringing the Angels to within 3-2. Velarde took third on Erstad’s groundout and scored on Slaught’s single to right.

“I’m seeing the ball well and a lot of balls are falling in,” said Slaught, who has started 13 of the last 18 games. “The main thing is I’m healthy and feeling good.”