Salmon’s Slam Delivers Angels

Tim Salmon hit a grand slam with none out in the bottom of the 11th inning Friday night to give the Angels a dramatic 8-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians before 17,758 at Anaheim Stadium.

“It was one of those moments where everything just stopped,” said Salmon, who hit his homer off Paul Shuey (0-1). “I saw the pitch, and everyone said how effortless it looked. When I hit it, I just said, ‘Get over his head.’ ”

Dennis Springer had replaced Angel closer Troy Percival to start the 11th inning, walked Manny Ramirez with one out and gave up a ground-rule double to Sandy Alomar.

Instead of going to his bullpen for left-handers Chuck McElroy or Mike Holtz, Angel Manager Terry Collins left Springer, a right-hander, in to face left-handed hitting Tony Fernandez.

Fernandez then drilled a two-run double to the gap in right center for a 6-4 lead. Collins brought Holtz in to face Jim Thome, who singled to center, but Jim Edmonds made a perfect throw to catcher Jorge Fabregas to cut down Fernandez at the plate.

The Angels had to be kicking themselves after blowing a chance to win in the bottom of the 10th. Dave Hollins, whose third-inning error led to an Indian run, led off with a single.

Cleveland Manager Mike Hargrove summoned left-hander Paul Assenmacher to face Garret Anderson, whose grounder to the second-base hole slipped under Julio Franco’s glove for an error, allowing Hollins to take third.

Assenmacher intentionally walked pinch-hitter Todd Greene to load the bases with no outs, and when Hargrove went to right-hander Eric Plunk, Collins sent Jack Howell up to hit for Jim Leyritz, who was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

Howell, who was .294 as a pinch-hitter in 1996 and led the American League with four pinch-hit home runs, swung at the first pitch, popping up to Franco at second.

Gary DiSarcina, who homered in the second inning, then hit a fly ball to shallow center field and Hollins tried to tag and score, but outfielder Marquis Grissom, who has won four consecutive Gold Glove Awards in the National League, threw a one-hopper to Alomar at the plate in time to nail Hollins.

Percival, in his first game since Wednesday night’s opening-night disaster, in which he gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 6-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox, looked sharp in the top of the 10th, striking out Franco and brushing off Hollins’ error to retire Kevin Mitchell on an inning-ending flyout.

Hargrove made two bold moves, intentionally walking Edmonds twice to pitch to cleanup batter Tim Salmon, who has averaged 30 home runs and 93 RBIs in his four big league seasons.

With two on in the seventh, Salmon grounded out to shortstop. With runners at first and third and two out in the bottom of the ninth, Salmon sent a towering fly ball to the wall in center, where Grissom made the catch.

The Indians also threatened in the top of the ninth when David Justice led off with a single, took second on Alomar’s bunt and third on Fernandez’s groundout. Mike James then got Grissom on a soft pop to first baseman Darin Erstad to end the inning.

Pep Harris, a former Indian prospect who came to Anaheim in the 1996 Brian Anderson trade, relieved starter Allen Watson with one out and two on in the fifth and got Mitchell to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. He added two more hitless innings before giving way to James to start the eighth.

James then added two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one before being replaced by Percival to start the 10th.

Albie Lopez, who failed to win the No. 5 spot in the Indian rotation this spring, replaced starter Bartolo Colon to start the sixth and gave up a single in each of the next four innings, but the Angels were unable to score.

Neither starting pitcher--Colon or Watson--was impressive.

The Angels heard about Colon’s 95 mph fastball, but that’s about all they knew of the 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic who made his major league debut Friday night. They had never seen the rookie or watched videotape of him.

“You kind of go in blind,” Angel catcher Leyritz said. “Sometimes when you see a guy for the first time you can’t go up there with a relaxed feeling knowing what to look for. You just try to get a read on him the first two innings.”

The Angels got more than an early read on Colon. By the second inning, the young right-hander must have felt more like a semi-Colon.

Hollins followed Erstad’s first-inning single, Luis Alicea’s walk and Salmon’s bloop single with a two-run single to right.