Percival Just Can’t Mo ‘Em Down in 9th

Troy Percival delivered a belt-high fastball, then turned to watch it rocket toward the center-field seats for the game-winning home run Saturday at Fenway Park.

Percival contorted his body, twisting, turning, hoping the ball might fall short. But no amount of body English could prevent Percival and the Angels from a 7-6 loss after Boston first baseman Mo Vaughn’s three-run homer in the ninth inning.

When Vaughn’s blast cleared the fence, 435 feet from home plate, Percival removed his cap and scratched his head. He was the last Angel to leave the field.

Moments later, Vaughn conducted a postgame TV interview in front of the Red Sox dugout in full view of the still-cheering sellout of 32,148. Percival sat with a towel over his head in the Angel dugout.

Vaughn beamed as the interviewer quizzed him about his late-game heroics. Percival pulled his towel tighter around his head.

“You can’t do things like this unless the guy on the mound has some guts,” Vaughn said later. “You make a highlight film like this only if somebody gives you a chance.”

Said Percival: “I was trying to go up and in and left it right in his wheelhouse. Mo did what he’s paid to do.”

It was the first time in Vaughn’s career that he had ended a game at Fenway Park with a home run. It was Percival’s fourth blown save this season and second against the Red Sox.

“Coming to the plate in that situation, it’s a matter of attitude,” Vaughn said after his 23rd homer. “You have to have an attitude in that situation.”

Said Percival, who was pitching in his third consecutive game for only the second time this season:

“I didn’t feel fatigued. You’re never going to feel as sharp as you want to be, but I felt good enough to do the job and didn’t do it.”

This was a game the Angels could have, should have won easily, according to Manager Terry Collins.

They led by scores of 3-0 and 6-2 before the Red Sox rallied within 6-4 in the seventh. Pep Harris retired the Red Sox in order in the eighth, then Collins turned the game over to Percival for safekeeping in the ninth.

Didn’t work.

“I didn’t think that was the story,” Collins said. “The story was leaving 13 men on base. That killed us more than the ninth inning.”

The Angels had baserunners in every inning and all nine starters had at least one hit. But they couldn’t seem to land a knockout blow against Boston starter Steve Avery or reliever Butch Henry (4-2).

Indeed, their offense stalled out after scoring with three runs in the fifth inning.

The Angels got a runner to second base, but couldn’t bring him in with two out in the sixth. They had runners on first and second with one out in the seventh and couldn’t score. They couldn’t score with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth.

And in the ninth, they had runners on second and third with two out, but right fielder Darren Bragg leaped to catch Orlando Palmeiro’s line drive.

Percival (4-5) faced three batters in the ninth, and all three got hits. Nomar Garciaparra and John Valentin singled, setting up the Percival-Vaughn confrontation.

In the season opener, Percival couldn’t get out of the ninth inning at Anaheim Stadium and the Red Sox rallied for four runs and a 6-5 victory. Vaughn drew a two-out walk to keep that inning alive on April 1.

“He takes ‘em hard,” Collins said of Percival. “He knows it’s his job to shut ‘em down. But that’s the life of a closer.”

Collins was more concerned about starter Jason Dickson, whose arm stiffness probably will bring an end to the Angels’ four-man rotation this week and could force him to miss his next start.

“I’m not going to bring him back on three days rest,” Collins said. “He said he got loose OK, but 110 pitches in six innings was plenty tonight.”

Dickson, who gave up two runs and eight hits after getting six days rest between starts, didn’t believe the condition of his arm was as bad as Collins suggested.

“I think the extra rest helped, but I won’t know how it feels until the day after,” Dickson said.