Angels Carry a Big Stick in Win

The Angels turned to a fresh face and an old shtick, or rather stick, Wednesday.

Desperate to change their luck--which took another turn south when first baseman Mo Vaughn was unavailable because of a staph infection--they decided to all use the same bat the first time through the order.

Whether that sparked the offense, or whether rookie catcher Ben Molina did, can be debated. But the Angels certainly had a different look about them in a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Molina, called up Tuesday, had three hits in his first three at-bats and drove in two runs. If he didn’t have an affect on the Angels--who seemed to painfully go through the motions in an 8-0 loss to the Royals on Tuesday--he did on the 18,216 at Edison Field, who gave Molina a louder reception each time he came up.

The Angels have been in a funk, losing 16 of 20 games since the All-Star break. They had been shutout twice in the last four games and needed to do something different.

So whose bat did they pick?

Edmonds. After all, it hardly been used this season as Edmonds spent most of it on the disabled list.

Four of the Angels’ first nine batters got hits--although Edmonds wasn’t one of them. That qualified as an offensive spurt after getting only five hits in an the loss on Tuesday.

It did cause some confusion. Outfielder Orlando Palmeiro was called out on strikes to start the first. He dropped the bat at the plate and home-plate umpire Tim Tschida, assuming a slight, tossed him.

DiSarcina, the next batter, explained the situation and Palmeiro was allowed to remain.

Good things soon started happening.

Kansas City catcher Chad Kreuter dropped Darin Erstad’s foul pop up to start the second. Erstad then singled and, one out later, Jeff Huson singled.

That brought up Molina, who was recalled on Tuesday. He lined a 2-and-1 pitch over Jermaine Dye’s head in right field, scoring Erstad.

It was Molina’s first major league hit and his first RBI.

Palmeiro followed with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

The Angels had scored only seven runs in the previous five games on their current homestand.

“We’re getting beat with fastballs, deep in hitter’s counts,” Collins said after Tuesday’s loss.

Molina, who was hitting .286 at triple-A Edmonton, didn’t have any such problems Wednesday. He lined a single to left in the fourth inning, scoring Troy Glaus for a 3-1 Angel lead.

He later scored on Garret Anderson’s two-out single. Molina then had an infield hit in the fifth.

Ken Hill and the bullpen made it stand up. Hill (4-10) went 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) for his first victory since June 6.

“Ben has a lot of ability, but has had some injury problems,” Collins said. “He plays winter ball every year and every year we get great reports on him from Puerto Rico.

“This season, he stayed healthy and had a great year.”

The same can’t be said for Vaughn, whose average has slipped to a season-low .272.

He was taken to the hospital after Tuesday’s game with an infection in his right shin. He was given antibiotics and sent home.

On Monday, Collins had pulled Vaughn--who missed 14 games earlier this season because of a severely sprained left ankle--after five innings because he wasn’t feeling well. .

“Mo has played the whole season on one leg, so I thought, ‘What’s a stomach ache to him,’ ” Collins said. “Then [trainer] Ned Bergert comes in after Tuesday’s game and told me they were taking Mo to the hospital.

“Hopefully, he can play in a couple days.”