Angels Finally Get Break

Just when it seemed they might have to add an Angel Amendment to Murphy’s Law, the team for which so much has gone wrong finally caught a break Saturday afternoon.

Tim Salmon’s check-swing floater with the bases loaded in the ninth inning had just enough momentum to carry over the glove of leaping first baseman Paul Sorrento, scoring two runs to lift the Angels to a 6-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners in front of 37,792 at the Kingdome.

“That was a slump-buster,” second baseman Rex Hudler said after the struggling Angels won for only the second time in eight games. “As soon as we got that, I knew the [losing] streak was over.”

Salmon’s hit, pitcher Shawn Boskie’s gutty eight-inning performance and Troy Percival’s 23rd save touched off a celebration in the normally staid Angel clubhouse. Percival and Hudler danced--quite awkwardly, it should be noted--to blaring rap music and reliever Mike James dumped a bottle of shampoo into the whirlpool, turning J.T. Snow’s dip into a bubble bath.

“It’s nice to win a game,” shortstop Gary DiSarcina said.

But one batter before Salmon’s double snapped a 4-4 tie, all that could be heard from the Angel dugout was a collective groan.

With Darin Erstad on second and Hudler on first, Snow, who was moved to the No. 3 spot in the order, lined a one-out single to center off reliever Bobby Ayala. With the speedy Erstad breaking on the hit and weak-throwing Rich Amaral in center, surely the Angels would gain the lead, right?

Not when you’re the masters of misfortune. As Erstad approached third he realized he hadn’t timed his strides right. He took a stutter-step before the bag and then rounded awkwardly, injuring his right calf.

Not sure if he had actually touched the base--home-plate umpire Rich Garcia told Snow he didn’t--Erstad slid to the turf and hobbled back to third.

The team that had leads in eight of its last nine losses; that blew a four-run lead Saturday; that had three hits and a walk in the first inning and failed to score; that had the potential go-ahead run (Randy Velarde) picked off first in the eighth and that managed only four runs despite amassing 10 hits in the first three innings, had missed another chance.

“It was like, ‘Oh, man, you’ve got to be kidding me,’ ” Salmon said. “We’ve been so close in the last few games, but for whatever reason we haven’t been able to push the big run across.”

Said Hudler: “I was just glad the [Fox Network] microphones were turned off at second base, because I let out some profanities.”

Salmon said Seattle Manager Lou Piniella’s pitching change--he pulled Ayala for Mike Jackson--gave him a chance to compose himself, and with one check swing, Angel fortunes turned.

“I was totally lucky, no question,” Salmon said. “That easily could have been a double-play ball. I was kind of fooled by the pitch and then all of a sudden I was running. We finally got a big break when we needed it.”

If not for Boskie, though, the Angels would not have been in a position to win. The right-hander, who has emerged as the Angels’ top pitcher this season, gave up two home runs in the fourth inning, a one-run shot to Alex Rodriguez and a two-run shot to Paul Sorrento, the 54th homer in Kingdome history to reach the upper deck.

Boskie, who was primarily responsible for letting an eight-run lead slip away in an 11-10 loss to the Mariners April 15, seemed on the verge of another collapse, as a 4-0 lead turned into a 4-4 tie.

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann, perhaps sensing Boskie wouldn’t last much longer, even had long reliever Jim Abbott warming up in the fourth.

But after Sorrento’s homer, Boskie shut down the Mariners on four hits through the eighth inning before giving way to Percival, who retired the side in order in the ninth after throwing 1 2/3 innings Friday night.

Boskie, who improved to 10-3, gave up nine hits, struck out two and walked two. He retired Edgar Martinez all four times, and the Angels backed Boskie with three double plays.

“He got us through some tough spots and gave us a chance,” Lachemann said. “I can’t say enough about the way he’s picked us up this year.”