Angels’ Winning Streak Hits Six

The Texas Rangers, hoping to change their rotten luck and perhaps divert attention from their losing streak, carted out two llamas before Tuesday night’s game against the Angels, stationing the creatures behind the batting cage at the Ballpark in Arlington.

“It’s an old Peruvian legend,” Ranger President Tom Schieffer said. “If you have a llama watch batting practice, you’re going to get timely hitting until the first snowfall. And if you have two llamas, you’re going to get great pitching.”

But the Rangers were apparently one llama short, and that must explain why they committed three errors that led to two unearned runs and misplayed another ball that resulted in two runs, paving the way for the Angels’ 7-6 victory before a crowd of 36,914.

The Angels were well on their way to extending their winning streak to six--and the Rangers’ losing streak to seven--when Luis Alicea doubled off the wall with one out in the ninth and scored on Craig Grebeck’s RBI double off Ranger closer John Wetteland, snapping a 6-6 tie.

Troy Percival walked Rusty Greer to open the ninth but retired Juan Gonzalez, Will Clark and Dean Palmer on fly balls for his ninth save, and the Angels pulled to within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West.

The bottom third of the Angel order went seven for 11, with five runs and four RBIs, but the Rangers, the major league’s best fielding team in 1996, couldn’t have gift-wrapped this one any better. Center fielder Damon Buford misjudged Gary DiSarcina’s second-inning fly ball, which sailed over his head for a two-run triple.

Greer, the Ranger left fielder, made two errors, an errant throw that led to an unearned run in the first and a bobble that contributed to a three-run Angel seventh. Nice timing--the Rangers celebrate Rusty Greer Glove Day today.

Shortstop Benji Gil also made a costly error, throwing wildly past first on a double-play attempt in the seventh, which allowed the Angels to take a 6-4 lead. That inning also included a pinch-hit, bloop RBI single by the Angels’ Darin Erstad.

The Rangers tied it with Gonzalez’s RBI single off reliever Kevin Gross in the seventh inning and ex-Angel Lee Steven’s pinch-hit RBI single off Mike James in the eighth, but they couldn’t overcome their miscues.

“We’re capitalizing on mistakes, and good teams do that,” Angel designated hitter Tony Phillips said. “You can’t give a big league team 30 outs. The majority of time, you’re going to pay.”

But who could have guessed Grebeck, the Angels’ 5-foot-6 reserve infielder who entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, would come through against Wetteland, the 1996 World Series Most Valuable Player?

Percival, that’s who.

“I’ve seen him hit a home run off Nolan Ryan, so I’ll take him against any fastball,” Percival said. “Wetteland can be nasty, but Grebeck is a tough hitter with a small strike zone. He waits for his pitch.”

Grebeck, in his first career appearance against the Ranger right-hander, worked the count to 3-and-1 before lining his shot into the left-field corner.

“It probably wasn’t one of his better fastballs because he didn’t want to walk me,” Grebeck said. “You can’t depend on one guy to win ballgames all the time. For us, it’s someone different every night.”

Both teams suffered casualties. Texas starter Ken Hill left in the fourth after Garret Anderson lined a single off his right shin. X-rays were negative, and Hill, who had to be carried off the field, was listed as day to day.

Angel center fielder Jim Edmonds, playing with torn cartilage in his left knee, had to leave in the fifth because of an injured right knee and is not expected to play today, and first baseman Jack Howell strained a groin.

But the Angels, as they have all week, overcame the setbacks.

“We’ve got a lot of heart, a lot of fight,” Percival said. “We’re a very resilient bunch.”