Edmonds to Make Run From the Leadoff Spot

Manager Terry Collins flip-flopped Jim Edmonds and Gregg Jefferies in the lineup Wednesday night, moving Edmonds to the leadoff spot and Jefferies to the fifth spot against the Cleveland Indians.

Both hitters can expect to remain in their new positions after the Angels’ 13-5 victory--Edmonds had three hits, including a three-run home run that keyed a five-run second inning, and scored three runs, and Jefferies went four for five, with an RBI single in the second and a two-run single in the seventh.

Edmonds moved into fifth place in the American League with 102 runs, which is 18 short of his franchise-record 120 runs, set in 1995.

“The one thing Jim has been able to do this season is score a lot of runs, and maybe he’ll get more fastballs in the leadoff spot,” Collins said. “I also wanted to split up the two left-handed hitters in the lineup [Edmonds and Garret Anderson] because some of these teams have three or four left-handers in their bullpen.”

Edmonds, Jefferies and Randy Velarde, who had four hits, including a two- run homer in the fifth, keyed the Angels’ 21-hit assault, which tied a season high for hits set on June 13 against Texas.

The first three batters in the Angel lineup--Edmonds, Velarde and Darin Erstad/Chris Pritchett--combined to go 11 for 18 with nine runs and eight RBIs. The Angels scored twice in the first, five times in the second, and twice in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

In going 6-4 against New York, Boston and Cleveland, the Angels scored 65 runs, an average of 6.5 a game, on the trip and had 20 multiple-run innings. The only downer: a hamstring injury to Erstad on Wednesday.

“Of all the nights,” designated hitter Tim Salmon said. “We should be excited about a big win that finished up a great trip, but it’s all on a sour note.”

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Steve Sparks said his knuckleball Wednesday night “was probably the worst I’ve had all year,” but it was good enough to beat the Indians. Sparks gave up five runs on eight hits and walked five in 6 2/3 innings but won his sixth consecutive decision to improve to 9-2.

“I didn’t have a good feel for it, and it wasn’t moving very much,” said Sparks, who has not lost a game since July 16 against Tampa Bay. “But I changed speeds and mixed up some of my other pitches.”

His timing was good too. The Angels gave Sparks a six-run cushion going into the bottom of the second and have scored 86 runs in his 15 starts, an average of 5.7 a game.

“I’ve beaten some quality teams,” Sparks said, “but we’ve also scored a lot of runs against some quality pitchers.”

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One Angel who may have felt a bit sad leaving Cleveland was Salmon, who had a single in three at-bats Wednesday night and finished the season hitting .452 (19 for 42) with nine homers and 14 RBIs against the Indians. . . . The Indians sold out their 282nd consecutive game in Jacobs Field and surpassed the 3-million mark in attendance for the third consecutive season.