Erstad Helps Angels Take One on Wild Side

Ranger designated hitter Juan Gonzalez can carry a team with his bat, but the Angels are coming to realize rookie center fielder Darin Erstad can carry a team with his legs.

Gonzalez, the Rangers’ designated hitter, drove in all five of Texas’ runs with two home runs Tuesday night, but it was Erstad’s second infield single on a ground ball to shortstop that set up the Angels’ dramatic 6-5 victory in front of 19,055 at Anaheim Stadium.

Erstad led off the ninth by legging out a bouncer up the middle and scored the tying run from first when reliever Mike Henneman fielded Rex Hudler’s sacrifice bunt attempt and threw wildly to first. The ball bounced away from second baseman Mark McLemore, who was covering first, and squirted down the right field line.

Erstad never slowed down and right fielder Warren Newson’s throw was too high and too late to get him as he dived across the plate. Hudler ended up on third, so Henneman walked Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon to load the bases and the Rangers brought in Rusty Greer from left field, going with a five-man, drawn-in infield and two outfielders.

The tactic was never tested. Chili Davis took a ball and then Henneman bounced a pitch in the dirt that got away from catcher Ivan Rodriquez, allowing Hudler to score the winner for the Angels, who were three outs from trailing the first-place Rangers by 9 1/2 games.

“It was a little unusual,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “I don’t think I’ve seen too many of these. That ball got by first and Erstad was flying. Even if [third base coach Rick Burleson] had put up a stop sign, I don’t think he could have stopped him.

“This was a big win for us. [Starter Shawn] Boskie gave up the five runs early and on that second homer, he was trying to throw a curveball in the dirt. But the only thing it hit was the concrete on the other side of the fence. That can be demoralizing, but we kept on scrapping.”

Gonzalez wasn’t demoralized when he learned he had not been selected for the American League All-Star team because, “there are guys out there with better numbers than me.” He has 11 hits in his last 24 at-bats with five homers and 16 runs batted in, but if he hadn’t missed 26 games because of injuries, his numbers would project out to 28 homers and 95 runs batted in for half of a season.

“Juan looks like a driven man,” Texas Manager Johnny Oates said. “He’s possessed. He’s hitting everything hard and he’s really enjoying it.”

So were the Rangers, who are riding Gonzalez’s streak and set a franchise record Tuesday, their 75th consecutive day in first place. But the Angels were never too far behind, largely because of Erstad. He led off the first with a walk and Hudler followed with a homer to left that cut the Rangers’ lead to one.

The Angels tied the score, 3-3, in the second after J.T. Snow singled to center and Randy Velarde, who extended his hitting streak to 19 games, singled to right. Snow took third and Velarde second when Newson overran the ball. And Snow scored when Erstad raced down the line to beat out what appeared to be a routine grounder to shortstop Kevin Elster.

“He’s a great asset for this team,” Hudler said. “The kid really has some skill. When I saw him jump up [after scoring the tying run] and pump his fist, man, I just wanted to score.”

Said Lachemann: “We played a lot cleaner game than we have recently. This gives us a lift.”