Sheets Throws Angels for Loss

Topping off an absolutely miserable afternoon, Angel shortstop Andy Sheets cut himself shaving in three spots after Saturday’s deflating 4-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals before 15,664 in Kauffman Stadium.

“It’s been a bad day all around,” Sheets said.

Now there’s an understatement.

Sheets missed Mike Sweeney’s dancing line drive in the fourth inning, his error paving the way for two unearned Royal runs, and he endured a hellish eighth, when his errant throw to first on a seemingly sure double play allowed the winning run to score.

“Every guy in this clubhouse feels for him because we’ve all been there,” said Tim Salmon, who drove in all of the Angels’ runs with a two-run homer in the fourth and a solo homer in the sixth. “If you haven’t made a mistake like that, you haven’t been playing that long.”

Sheets hasn’t been an Angel for long, but since being acquired from the San Diego Padres on March 29 he has endeared himself to teammates with his soft-spoken, unassuming demeanor, his work ethic, and his solid play filling in for the injured Gary DiSarcina.

That’s what made his misfortune Saturday even more difficult to absorb.

“He’s the last guy in the world you’d want to see that happen to,” Salmon said. “He’s been a great fit here, and I don’t think we could have found a better replacement for DiSar. Everyone’s behind him.”

The key for Sheets now, third-base coach Larry Bowa said, is putting Saturday behind him.

“This is where mental toughness comes in,” Bowa said. “If you dwell on this it will affect you for 10 days. There’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to turn the page and move on.”

Sheets’ bad throw on the potential double-play ball wasn’t the only play that tormented him in the eighth. With the score tied, 3-3, Rey Sanchez opened the home half by beating out a grounder to the hole despite Sheets’ strong throw.

Carlos Beltran followed with a worm-burner to Sheets’ right, the thick Kauffman Stadium turf slowing the grounder up enough for Sanchez to beat Sheets’ throw to second.

Carlos Febles bunted the runners to second and third, and Angel reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa walked Joe Randa intentionally to load the bases. Sweeney then ripped a grounder toward the second-base bag, Sheets fielding it cleanly and stepping on second for the second out.

But Sheets, despite having plenty of time, bounced his throw to first well in front of the first-base bag, and Darin Erstad wasn’t able to dig it out. Sanchez scored to cap a rally in which the Royals didn’t hit a ball out of the infield.

Reliever Jose Santiago, who came in in the eighth, pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

“It was a perfect double-play ball, I just [messed] it up,” Sheets said. “There’s nothing else to say.”

Adding to Sheets’ frustration was another hitless day at the plate. Sheets was batting .350 after 11 games but is one for 21 in his last seven games, his average dipping to .246.

“The last week has been terrible,” Sheets said. “I’ve been making errors, striking out, not driving in runs when I had opportunities. . . . Maybe I’m trying to do too much sometimes, pressing to get the big hit or RBI. But that’s no excuse.”

Angel catcher Matt Walbeck thought there was a good excuse for Sheets missing the line drive that Sweeney rifled off Angel starter Steve Sparks in the fourth.

“It came in a knuckleball and went out a knuckleball,” Walbeck said. “Right before it was going to hit his glove, it took off. I’ve seen that happen before, and the last time was to a guy named Justin Baughman [who suffered a concussion and cuts that required 60 stitches to close when he was hit in the face by a liner last season]. I’ll take this one over that.”

Sparks threw his best game of the season, giving up two unearned runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. But with the exception of Salmon and Mo Vaughn, who singled before Salmon’s homer in the fourth, the Angels had only five other baserunners, none of whom made it past first.

The Angels have now lost six of their last seven games.

“I don’t know if things can get any worse or any harder,” Salmon said, “but we’ll figure it out.”

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