Angels Hurting as White Sox Rally to Win

Manager Terry Collins must have blinked his eyes a couple of times and hoped he was having a weird dream. The setting was appropriately surreal: swirling clouds of mist drifting over Edison Field’s fake-rock formation and starter Allen Watson down on one knee after taking a line drive off his left heel, then reliever Mike James wincing in pain after a ninth-inning strikeout.

After the game--a 6-5 come-from-behind victory by the Chicago White Sox in front of 15,997--with Watson en route to the hospital for X-rays and James scheduled for an MRI test today, Collins could only shake his head.

“I thought, ‘Here we go again,’ ” said Collins, who saw ace Chuck Finley go out after being struck with a line drive Saturday.

The preliminary diagnosis by team doctor Craig Milhouse of James’ injury was a strained flexor muscle in the right forearm, but that won’t be confirmed until today’s tests.

Watson lasted six innings--the longest stint by an Angel starter in the last four games--but the overtaxed bullpen finally gave way as the White Sox scored five times in the last four innings. All six runs came after two outs.

Rich DeLucia replaced Watson, who pitched one more inning after being struck by a shot off the bat of Ray Durham, to begin the seventh inning with the Angels clinging to a 4-3 lead. DeLucia left 1 1/3 innings later with the first blown save of the season by an Angel reliever.

Magglio Ordonez slammed a 413-foot homer to center to tie the score in the seventh. DeLucia struck out Frank Thomas looking to end the inning and Thomas’ evening ended a few minutes later when he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

DeLucia walked Robin Ventura and gave up a single to Wil Cordero in the eighth before Collins summoned James, who yielded a two-run double to pinch hitter Ruben Sierra before getting Chris Snopek to ground out to end the inning.

It appeared Watson was able to shake off the effects of Durham’s drive, but Collins said his foot bothered him in the sixth, an inning in which a wild pitch allowed Thomas to score and Cordero to move over to second. Cordero scored on Jeff Abbott’s single to left.

There was a time when Watson would have let a dropped fly ball by Garret Anderson that led to a run in the first and his wild pitch bother him. Like, say, last week. “Allen’s a good pitcher,” Collins says, “but some nights he lets his emotions get the best of him.”

This time, Watson faced up to the ill fortune and kept his cool, giving up five hits and three runs while striking out six and walking two in six innings.

“We’ll take that outing,” Collins said. “He pitched pretty well.”

Collins began the evening thinking about disabled players. Figuring that Tim Salmon, who is on the DL with a strained ligament in his left foot, will be the designated hitter when he comes back, Collins juggled his lineup and put Darin Erstad in left field.

“When Timmy does come back, I need to be sure that Darin’s played enough outfield to be ready,” he said.

The way Erstad’s hitting these days he probably can play anywhere he wants. Erstad singled and stole second his first two times at bat, doubled the next two, scored once and drove in two. But as Collins pointed out when asked to rate his performance, “It wasn’t enough. We need to give him some help.”

With Erstad in left, Anderson was moved over to right and he couldn’t handle his first opportunity, a two-out fly ball by Albert Belle that plopped in and out of his glove, allowing Thomas to score from first.

The Angels immediately provided Watson with a couple of reasons to forgive and forget. Erstad led off with a single to center, stole second and scored on Jim Edmonds’ single to center. Fielder walked and Dave Hollins lined a run-scoring single to right to put the Angels up, 2-1.

With two on and two out in the fourth, Erstad ripped a shot that one-hopped the wall in left-center, scoring Norberto Martin and Gary DiSarcina.

Soon thereafter the mist began to fall, as did two more Angel pitchers.