Angel Victory Helps to Soothe Boskie’s Nerves

Had it not been for Texas Ranger outfielder Juan Gonzalez and his long, long home runs, Angel pitcher Shawn Boskie would have felt a little better about things.

As it was, he could be only reasonably happy with a performance that would have normally been worth more. But the little victory was enough, especially since the Angles got a big one.

Gonzalez took Boskie deep twice and drove in five runs in the first three innings Tuesday. But, as painful as those to mistakes were to watch, it hurt a little less in the end, after the Angels came back for a 6-5 victory at Anaheim Stadium.

“[Gonzalez] is the one guy you don’t want to beat you,” Boskie said. “The first two I threw him were cookies.

“Then the only thing I wanted to do was keep us in the game. I thought if I pitched well, we could hang around and win it.”

Prophetic words, even in hindsight.

The Angels scored two runs in the ninth for the victory. By then, Boskie was gone, having done his work. He lasted seven innings, giving up seven hits. He was overpowering--especially when Gonzalez wasn’t at the plate--and got a no-decision for the effort.

“He gave up those early runs and that can be demoralizing,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “He could have thrown in the towel and we could have been blown out.”

Instead, Boskie retired 13 of 15 batters after Gonzalez’s second home run. Seven were strikeouts. He left with no outs in the eighth, after giving up a double to Ivan Rodriguez.

“He grinded one out for us,” infielder Rex Hudler said. “He’s been around, he knew what he had to do. He had to give us a chance.”

It was a complete reversal from Boskie’s last start. He didn’t get out of the fourth against the Oakland A’s and was charged seven runs in an 18-2 loss Thursday. It was his worst start since April 15, when he gave up six runs in 5 2/3 innings and failed to hold a 9-1 lead against Seattle.

After the Seattle game, Boskie, who was winless at the time, was removed from the rotation. The Oakland beating, after Boskie had gone 4-1 in seven starts, was viewed as merely a bad outing.

One had to wonder after three innings Tuesday if it was completely out of his system.

“If he would have gotten into any more trouble, it would have probably been all for him,” Lachemann said. “We couldn’t afford to let this game get out of hand.”

Boskie knew he could prevent that from happening.

“I felt like I was throwing the ball OK,” Boskie said. “I just wasn’t happy with a couple of pitches.”

Boskie was in trouble from the start. Three of the first four Rangers got hits, the last Gonzalez’s three-run homer to center field. He was just tuning up.

In the third, Gonzalez launched a two-run homer deep into the left field seats, estimated at 440 feet. It gave the Rangers a 5-3 lead.

“I made other pitches that were hittable,” Boskie said. “But they missed them. Gonzalez doesn’t miss.”