Results Are In: McDowell Is Tough to Beat

The last time Jack McDowell pitched in the major leagues--May 31 against Minnesota--the Angels’ dugout brain trust noticed his velocity had dropped dramatically in the fourth inning, so Manager Terry Collins went to the mound to find out what was wrong.

McDowell, who ended up on the disabled list the next day, admitted he couldn’t throw as hard as usual because of intense pain in his surgically repaired right elbow, but he offered an alternative to being removed from the game.

“Let’s just look at the results,” he said. “I’ll pick it back up.”

It’s that go-down-with-the-ship attitude that made the Angels believe McDowell’s long-awaited return to the rotation would be as much a boost for their late-season pennant drive as any trade.

Wednesday night, McDowell brought his fierce competitiveness and a couple of other things--an 89-mph fastball and pinpoint control--to the mound, and his coming-out-again party was a more rousing success than even Collins and Co. could have hoped as the Angels beat the Tigers, 2-0, in front of 21,841 at Edison Field.

McDowell, 32, was making his 265th big-league start and it rekindled memories of 1993 when he was 22-10 and won the Cy Young award . . . well, in terms of results anyway. He didn’t have his nastiest split-finger fastball working, but he pitched seven scoreless innings, gave up five hits, struck out two and did not walk a batter. Fifty-nine of his 80 pitches were strikes. And three of the Tigers’ hits against him came with two out.

“We’ll take it, especially with the way [Detroit starter Justin Thompson] was shutting us down,” McDowell said. “It feels good, knowing that it’s a little bit of a different game, that it’s a different approach and I know I can still get people out.

“I was just pitching, locating the ball, throwing strikes, getting ahead of people and making them make some passes at my pitches.”

Collins said before the game that he wasn’t sure what to expect. “I told him not to try to do anything special,” he said, “but I can tell you one thing I know we’ll get: everything he’s got.”

And, on this night, that was pretty special. The 11-year veteran--now pitching from the stretch all the time to reduce stress on his elbow from his “pretty violent” windup--threw four warmup pitches before the eighth inning and then Collins came out, took the ball and handed it to Shigetoshi Hasegawa, who worked a 1-2-3 inning. Troy Percival pitched the ninth to pick up his 34th save, the 100th of his career.

“We were in the eighth, my split wasn’t real sharp and they were starting to catch up to the fastball,” McDowell said. “A two-run game can turn into 2-2 in a heartbeat and I just figured it was time.”

McDowell, who made three rehabilitation starts in the minors, says he’s confident his elbow will be fine this morning. “I felt good and I think I know how I’ll feel tomorrow,” he said.

The victory kept the Angels 1 1/2 games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the American League West and, maybe more important, buoyed their spirits as they consider the upcoming 10-game trip through New York, Boston and Cleveland.

“We’re going to need all the pitching we can come up with,” Collins said.

Darin Erstad also celebrated his return from the disabled list, with a run-scoring single in the third, a single in the eighth and a spectacular diving grab of a line drive off the bat of Brian Hunter in the ninth. Erstad, who has reached base safely in 94 of the 112 games he has played this year, was sidelined for 15 days by a strained hamstring.

Reggie Williams, getting a start in right field because Garret Anderson had the night off, stroked a two-out double to left in the third and, after Randy Velarde walked, Erstad lined an RBI single to center.

The Angels scored again in the fifth after Gary DiSarcina’s bouncer to the hole skipped off shortstop Deivi Cruz’ glove and caromed into left field. DiSarcina ended up on second and scored on Williams’ single to left.

“There’s no telling how Jack will feel two days from now or five days from now,” Collins said, “but you can’t ask for anything more from a guy who hasn’t pitched in almost three months than what he gave us tonight. He did it on guts and savvy.”