Angels Lose Their Winning Ways

With Mo Vaughn and Jim Edmonds on the disabled list, the Angels have prided themselves on doing the little things to generate offense, hitting behind runners, running the bases aggressively and wisely, driving in runners from third with fewer than two outs and coming up with key two-out hits.

That’s why Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics in front of 5,377 in the Oakland Coliseum seemed so out of character for a team that had scrapped its way to several victories in the first week of the season.

The Angels managed only one clutch hit all night, and a missed sign helped kill a potential game-tying rally in the ninth, leaving the Angel clubhouse in a foul mood afterward.

Oakland closer Billy Taylor opened the ninth by hitting Matt Walbeck with a pitch, and Manager Terry Collins inserted Orlando Palmeiro as a pinch-runner. Andy Sheets fouled off a bunt attempt, but on the second pitch, with Sheets squaring to bunt again, Palmeiro took off for second.

The A’s, anticipating a hit and run or steal, pitched out, and catcher Mike Macfarlane easily threw out Palmeiro at second. Sheets and Jeff Huson then grounded out to end the game.

The question: Why was Palmeiro running on a sacrifice attempt? The answer: He shouldn’t have been running. Another question: Why did the A’s pitch out? Did they steal a sign?

“He missed the sign, it was a bunt,” perturbed third-base coach Larry Bowa said of Palmeiro. “They must have thought it was a hit and run. They don’t know the signs, and we don’t know the signs.”

Collins was steamed about the play but refused to point fingers. Asked if Palmeiro missed the sign, he said: “It doesn’t matter. He’s out.”

Oakland Manager Art Howe said the A’s weren’t swiping signs.

“It was something you take a shot at,” Howe said. “When you’re on the road, you don’t really play for a tie, you tend to go for the win. I thought they might want to steal a base because the player in there could run, and it paid off. It was a great throw.”

So ended a frustrating game in which the Angels outhit the A’s, 9-7, but couldn’t come up with big hits.

For instance, the Angels, trailing, 3-1, nearly tied it with a two-out rally in the eighth, as Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson singled off reliever Doug Jones and Troy Glaus grounded an RBI double to right, Anderson holding at third. But Todd Greene, swinging at the first pitch, flied out to left to end the inning.

The Angels also had runners on first and second with two outs in the fifth and seventh innings but failed to score.

Oakland starter Mike Oquist, a right-hander who was recalled Tuesday from triple-A Vancouver, gave up only one run and four hits in six innings for the victory against Angel knuckleballer Steve Sparks, who gave up three runs--all in the first inning--and seven hits in six innings, striking out seven.

“It took me two or three innings to feel comfortable, to get locked in with the knuckleball,” said Sparks (0-2). “I didn’t have a good feel for it--the ball seemed hard and slick--and I tried to get by with my other stuff the first three innings.”

Tony Phillips walked to open the first, and Jason McDonald singled, Phillips taking third. McDonald took second on a passed ball, and after Jason Giambi struck out, Matt Stairs ripped a two-run single to right.

John Jaha singled, and Stairs took third when Sheets, the Angel shortstop, failed to field Sparks’ pick-off attempt. Stairs scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 lead.

But Sparks didn’t fold. He slipped out of a runners-on-second-and-third, one-out jam in the third, getting Eric Chavez to pop to short and striking out Macfarlane.

With runners on first and second and one out in the fifth, Sparks caught Ben Grieve looking at a full-count strike and Walbeck threw out Stairs at third for an inning-ending double play.

The Angels didn’t so much manufacture their first run as they fabricated it. Greene opened with a fly ball to left field, but Grieve lost it in the lights, and it dropped for a gift double. Greene took third on Walbeck’s grounder to second and scored on Sheets’ groundout.

But they didn’t score again until the eighth.

“We had nine hits,” Collins said, “we just didn’t get any with runners in scoring position.”