Angels Starting to Hit Their Stride

You don’t ask too many questions. You don’t try to analyze or explain it. The best thing the Angels can do right now, veteran designated hitter Chili Davis said after Wednesday’s 14-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox, is enjoy it while it lasts.

“You go through so many bad times in this game that when you go through a good one, you just have to ride it,” Davis said after the Angels got their 10th come-from-behind win in the last 11 games and completed a three- game sweep of the team with the third-best record in the American League.

“It’s important not to get too excited about anything in this game because it’s so humbling, and a lot of crazy things can happen. One guy starts hitting, and everyone else starts to hit. One guy stops hitting, and everyone else stops.”

The Angels didn’t really start hitting until the seventh inning Wednesday, but when they did, they turned a 2-2 game into a blowout before 22,960 in Anaheim Stadium.

Rex Hudler, one for 19 in his last five games, hit a two-run double and J.T. Snow added a three-run triple to key a seven-run seventh inning, which included five walks.

Tim Salmon then highlighted a five-run eighth with a three-run homer, his 10th home run in the last 16 games. The Angels batted around in the seventh and eighth.

The Angels, batting .324 with 25 home runs in the last 11 games, had shown such flashes this season, but every time they’d win a few games in a row, they’d reel off a few losses.

But their current run is the first time they’ve sustained a potent attack for more than a week, and players are beginning to notice parallels to the summer of 1995, when the Angels steamrollered their way toward an 11-game lead in the AL West.

“What you’re seeing now is different guys in the lineup picking us up every day,” said Salmon, who has 15 runs, 18 hits, seven homers and 14 RBIs in his last 11 games.

“If you go through a season expecting one or two or three guys to pick you up every day, you’re not going to get anywhere. But when you have Hud coming off the bench like today, J.T. coming through, Darin [Erstad] hitting like he’s been, that’s when things start rolling.”

That’s the other remarkable thing about this streak--eight of the 10 wins have come without center fielder Jim Edmonds, who was the team’s top hitter before spraining his right thumb June 12 in Kansas City.

Erstad, in his sixth big league game, had two hits and two runs Wednesday, and the rookie center fielder went seven for 14 in the Chicago series. Hudler also singled in the first, stole second and third, and had an RBI double in the fifth to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.

Shortstop Gary DiSarcina, who signed a four-year, $11.7-million contract extension Wednesday morning, celebrated with two hits and three runs.

“It shows you we’re picking up the slack, and losing Jim is a lot of slack to pick up,” said Davis, who hit his 15th homer in the second. “We did that last year when I went down [with a hamstring injury]. The team played better without me.”

The Angels also play better with outstanding starting pitching, which Jason Grimsley provided Wednesday. Though he walked five and got himself into several dangerous situations, Grimsley had a season-high eight strikeouts and gave up only two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

With two on and one out in the third inning, Grimsley struck out No. 3 batter Frank Thomas and cleanup hitter Robin Ventura. In the fifth, Grimsley struck out Thomas and Ventura again with two runners on.

“When you get big strikeouts like that, the momentum carries over when it’s your turn to hit,” DiSarcina said. “That gave us a huge lift. As much as the offense would like to take credit for this streak, we can’t score eight runs a game. The pitching staff has really stepped up, starters and relievers.”

One of Grimsley’s better efforts of the season resulted in a no-decision, though, because left-hander Chuck McElroy came on to retire Ventura to end the seventh and poached the victory, thanks to the Angel outburst.