A Number of Disabling Injuries Didn’t Cut Lineup to the Core

Randy Velarde is back at second base after 1 1/2 years of rehabilitation on his elbow, Jack McDowell is in the rotation again after 2 1/2 months on the disabled list and Darin Erstad has returned to first base after 15 days on the DL.

Somehow, the Angels’ patchwork lineup during their absence--and others--managed to cling to first place in the American League West.

Shortstop Gary DiSarcina says the credit can be spread among a group of players such Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Garret Anderson, Troy Percival and himself, the front office and the minor leaguers who stepped up to fill the void.

“The core of this team deserves credit for keeping the machine rolling even when a part broke,” DiSarcina said. “You also have to give [General Manager] Billy [Bavasi] credit for signing that core to long-term deals so when something breaks down, we can plug in a replacement and keep going.

“And the guys who’ve come up, they haven’t had the luxury of playing for a last-place team in September to get used to the big leagues. They’ve had to perform in the pressure of a pennant race.”

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The Angels don’t have a player in the league’s top 10 in batting average, home runs or RBIs. They don’t have a pitcher in the top 10 in victories.

“I tell you what we do have, though,” Manager Terry Collins said. “We’ve got a lot of guys in the top 10 in effort.”

That might not inspire fear in the Yankees, Red Sox or Indians--the Angels’ opponents on a 10-game trip that begins Monday--but the character of this team does impress McDowell.

“I’ve been on teams that looked like an All-Star team on paper, but we were having team meetings every week to try to figure out why things weren’t clicking,” he said. “That’s not the case with this team at all. I keep telling the guys that this is the kind of team that can be magic.”

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Collins won’t describe the upcoming trip against the three teams with the best winning percentages in the league as a make-or-break situation because “we’ve got too many games left, including five with Texas.”

But he will admit it’s “huge.”

“The reason it’s so big is because of who we’re playing,” he said. “You play five games in New York and you can be 0-5.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Toronto Blue Jays, three games.

* Site--Edison Field.

* Tonight--7.

* TV--Fox Sports West tonight and Saturday.

* Radio--KRLA (1110), KPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 69-58, Blue Jays 65-62.

* Record vs. Blue Jays--2-6.

* Tickets--(714) 663-9000.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ JEFF JUDEN (0-1, 5.11 ERA) vs. BLUE JAYS’ CHRIS CARPENTER (8-6, 4.84 ERA)

* Update--The best thing about this series for the Angels, who lost their first five meetings with Toronto this year, is they don’t have to face Roger Clemens, who pitched Thursday. Clemens is second in the league in earned-run average (2.90), right ahead of Chuck Finley. Jack McDowell, scheduled to pitch Monday in New York, said his arm was sore--”it feels like it normally does after I pitch”--after his seven-inning scoreless stint against Detroit Wednesday night.

* Saturday, 7 p.m.--Steve Sparks (7-2, 4.45) vs. Kelvim Escobar (2-1, 6.00).

* Sunday, 1 p.m.--Chuck Finley (9-6, 3.01) vs. Woody Williams (9-8, 4.65).