No Offense, but Hollins Missed as Much as Erstad

Much has been made about the loss of versatile first baseman/outfielder Darin Erstad, who has missed 24 of the past 39 games because of hamstring injuries, and whose absence has left a gaping hole in the Angel offense.

Not much has been made about the loss of first baseman Dave Hollins, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery and has not played since Aug. 9. But perhaps something should.

“You talk about two guys who play with the intensity that Darin and Dave do--they go from first to third on singles, stretch doubles into triples--that raises your level of play,” Angel third-base coach Larry Bowa said.

Without them, the Angel offense, especially during their recent 1-6 road trip, has come to a virtual standstill, and not only because the Angels had only three stolen bases in 12 games going into Saturday night’s game against Seattle.

“Our last five hit-and-run plays, we haven’t even put the ball in play,” Bowa said before the game. “To overachieve you have to do everything right. We don’t have a 30-homer guy, a 100-RBI guy, a 15-game winner, so we have to to execute. But we haven’t been doing that the past 10 days.”

There is also a trickle-down effect: If Erstad and Hollins were healthy, Erstad would be in left field hitting first or third and Hollins, who is more suited to hitting second than Randy Velarde, would be at first base.

Now Manager Terry Collins must choose every day between rookies Orlando Palmeiro (left field) and Chris Pritchett (first base), depending on where he starts Gregg Jefferies.

So, with third baseman Troy Glaus, the Angels usually have two rookies starting in the heat of a pennant race. And with the heart of the order struggling, those outside of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth spots have been feeling the burden.

“Maybe because these games are so magnified, some guys are putting too much pressure on themselves,” Bowa said. “I’ve seen some guys in clutch situations just trying to put the ball in play. . . . You would think because no one picked us to win the division, there wouldn’t be as much pressure.”

*

Pitcher Ken Hill left Friday night’s game in the fourth inning because of pain in his right elbow, and his status is questionable for his next scheduled start against Texas on Wednesday night.

If Hill can’t start Wednesday, Collins said Jason Dickson, Jeff Juden or Jarrod Washburn would get the call, with Dickson the likely starter.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ OMAR OLIVARES (8-8, 3.91 ERA) vs. MARINERS’ PAUL ABBOTT (2-0, 5.06 ERA)

Edison Field, 5 p.m.

Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Collins has switched his rotation for the upcoming Texas series. Knuckleballer Steve Sparks, who threw only 53 pitches against the Rangers on Thursday, will start the series opener Monday night on three days rest. Chuck Finley, who threw 126 pitches against Texas Wednesday, will start Tuesday night on six days rest. The flip-flop will allow Collins to start Finley on the last day of the season in Oakland on five days rest.