Angels Take One on Wild Side

Juan Gonzalez can carry a team with his bat--the Rangers’ designated hitter has 11 hits in his last 24 at-bats with five homers and 16 runs batted in--but the Angels are realizing that rookie center fielder Darin Erstad can carry a team with his legs.

Gonzalez drove in all five of Texas’ runs Tuesday night with a pair of home runs, but it was Erstad’s second infield single on a ground ball to shortstop that set up the Angels’ dramatic 6-5 comeback victory before 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 and right fielder Warren Newson’s throw was too high and too late to get him as he dove headlong across the plate.

Hudler ended up on third, so Henneman intentionally walked Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon to load the bases and the Rangers brought Rusty Greer in 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 game-winner for the Angels, who were three outs away 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 was not demoralized Tuesday 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.” But if he hadn’t missed 26 games because of injuries, his numbers would project out to 28 homers and 95 RBIs . . . for half of a season.

How much damage can one player do? Just ask Shawn Boskie. Take Gonzalez out of the Texas lineup and Boskie had a five-hit shutout for seven innings. Boskie, who gave up two homers in three innings in his last start, kept the Angels’ gopher-ball streak--they have given up 19 home runs in five games--alive when Gonzalez drilled his 1-0 delivery over the center-field fence for a three-run homer in the first inning.

That was a chip shot compared to the drive Gonzalez walloped in his next at-bat, a two-run homer that traveled about 440 feet, coming down a few feet shy of the deserted second deck in left field.

The Angels had 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.”

The Angels cut the Ranger lead to one run again in the fifth on a two-out walk to Davis, a single by Salmon and a bloop double to left by Anderson.

Boskie, meanwhile, had settled into a nice groove. He retired 13 of the next 15 Ranger batters after Gonzalez’s third-inning homer--yes, he even struck out Gonzalez in the fifth--striking out seven in all.

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