Daubach Supplies Power to Ground Angels

Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn received treatment for a staph infection of his right shin Friday, was said to be “progressing,” according to doctors, and was sent home before Friday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox.

While Vaughn is recovering and his ex-Red Sox teammates are town, he should ponder this:

Since June 1, Brian Daubach, a six-year minor league free agent who was released by baseball’s worst team, the Florida Marlins, last winter; a 27-year-old journeyman who is making a shade above the major league minimum of $200,000, and who somehow emerged as Boston’s No. 3 hitter--Vaughn’s old spot--this season, is batting .319 with 10 home runs, 33 runs batted in, 14 doubles, a .378 on-base percentage and a .585 slugging percentage in 45 games.

Vaughn, the Angels’ $80-million man, the guy who was supposed to lead the Angels to the playoffs this season, is batting .250 with five homers, 26 RBIs, six doubles, a .335 on-base percentage and a .355 slugging percentage in 54 games since June 1.

The Red Sox are clearly getting more bang for the buck, and they did again Friday night, as Daubach’s two-run home run keyed a 5-1 victory before 36,360 in Edison Field, ending the Angels’ modest two-game winning streak.

The recent fortunes of the Red Sox and Angels are mirrored by Daubach and Vaughn--Boston, though it has lost 18 of 32 games since July 1, is one game behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League wild-card race; Anaheim has lost 17 of 22 games since the All-Star break and is buried in the West, 19 games behind the Texas Rangers.

“Maybe we picked the apple when it’s ripe,” Boston Manager Jimy Williams said of Daubach, a first baseman/designated hitter. “The kid has done very well here. He’s a good offensive player, a good defensive player, a good teammate. You can’t ask for any more than he’s brought to this club.”

Daubach’s third-inning homer, a 418-foot blast to right that was his 14th homer of the season, and Troy O’Leary’s bases-empty shot in the fifth were the only blemishes on Angel knuckleballer Steve Sparks’ six-inning, six-hit effort.

But like so many Angel pitchers who have made quality starts this season, he not no support from an anemic Angel offense that has been limited to one run or less in 10 of the last 21 games.

Red Sox right-hander Bret Saberhagen (8-4) held the Angels to one run on six hits in five innings, Derek Lowe added three innings of scoreless relief and Tim Wakefield pitched a perfect ninth.

The Angels had two hits in each of the first and second innings, but all four hits came with two outs, and none resulted in runs. The Angels scored in the fourth when Steve Decker followed walks to Darin Erstad and Troy Glaus with an RBI double down the left-field line.

But rookie second baseman Trent Durrington, who singled in his first big league at-bat in the second inning after being recalled from double-A Erie on Friday, popped to short, and Orlando Palmeiro struck out for the third straight time, ending the rally.

The Angels advanced only one runner to second base the rest of the game, while the Red Sox tacked on two insurance runs in the ninth on O’Leary’s two-run double, which followed singles by Jose Offerman and John Valentin. O’Leary had four hits and three RBIs.

Decker, the Angel catcher, had two doubles and a single, but that couldn’t prevent him from getting optioned to triple-A Edmonton after the game so pitcher Tim Belcher could be activated today.