Another Walk in the Park for Angels

While the Oakland Athletics rack their brains trying to figure out why the Angels have dominated them this season, their manager, Art Howe, has apparently solved the mystery.

“They seem to have outscored us every game,” Howe said.

Brilliant. And the folks around here thought Tony LaRussa was a genius?

The Angels didn’t just seem to outscore the A’s on Friday night. They hammered them into submission in a 14-4 victory before 12,586 in the Oakland Coliseum, running their record to 8-0 against the A’s this season.

Rookie right-hander Jason Dickson ended a monthlong dry spell with his first victory since June 10, and the Angels, who have won four in a row but remain 4 1/2 games behind Seattle, backed him with a relentless, 17-hit attack that included home runs by Tony Phillips, Jim Edmonds and Tim Salmon.

Phillips, who tripled and scored in the first inning and hit a three-run homer in the fifth, is 14-0 against Oakland this season--his Chicago White Sox beat the A’s six times before he was traded to Anaheim on May 18.

“It seems like the little things have gone our way against them, and their mistakes are getting hit for home runs, we’re capitalizing,” said Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina, the only Angel without a run batted in Friday night.

“There’s a confidence when we play them, but we know it’s not going to continue forever. When you have guys like Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi in your lineup, you know one swing of the bat can determine the outcome of a close game.”

The Angels made sure Friday night’s game wasn’t close, scoring five runs in the first, two in the third and five more in the fifth, coming only four runs shy of their season-high for runs in an 18-3 victory over Seattle on May 21.

Dickson, who was 0-2 with two no-decisions in his previous four starts, gave up home runs to Scott Brosius in the third and George Williams in the fifth but otherwise looked very sharp, going seven innings, giving up five hits and striking out seven to improve to 9-4.

Dickson held the heart of the Oakland order--McGwire, Canseco and Giambi--hitless in eight at-bats, striking out McGwire and Canseco looking to end the sixth.

He walked two and has now given up three earned runs or less in 16 of his 19 starts, lowering his earned-run average to 3.37 before giving way to reliever Mike Holtz to start the eighth.

Governments have been overthrown in the time it took the A’s to retire the Angels in the top of the first. The Angels batted around for the 14th time this season, shelling Oakland starter Steve Karsay for five runs on four hits in 42-pitch half-inning that took 21 minutes to complete.

Phillips opened with a triple off the center field, and Darin Erstad rifled an RBI single to center. Dave Hollins walked and Edmonds singled to load the bases.

After Salmon struck out looking, Karsay walked Garret Anderson on four pitches to force in a run. Jim Leyritz’s RBI groundout made it 3-0, and Edmonds scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. Todd Greene then capped the inning with an RBI single to right.

The Angels added two more in the third when Salmon walked, Anderson doubled him home and Leyritz singled in Anderson for a 7-0 lead.

Howe pulled Karsay (2-9) for reliever Carlos Reyes, and by that time the only suspense left for Oakland fans was which color dot would win the fourth-inning dot race on the stadium message board.

Adding an exclamation point to their victory, the Angels scored five more runs in the fifth, which included home runs by Edmonds (his 16th) Salmon (16th) and Phillips (fifth) off reliever Carlos Reyes, and single runs in the sixth and seventh off Don Wengert.

The last-place A’s fell 15 games behind the Mariners, their American League-worst record dropping to 37-54.