Angels Waste Chance

The Angels got their second quality start in as many nights Wednesday, Tim Belcher turning in a 7 2/3-inning, three-run, five-hit performance against the Chicago White Sox. They also got their second atrocious finish in as many nights.

This time it was reliever Mike Magnante who gave up a game-tying RBI double to Brook Fordyce in the eighth inning, and third baseman Troy Glaus who committed a throwing error that allowed the winning run to score, as the White Sox came from behind for a 4-3 victory before 11,666 in Comiskey Park.

Whatever is the opposite of a Midas Touch, the Angels have it. Everything they touch seems to turn to disaster.

“When you’re playing bad,” center fielder Jim Edmonds said after the Angels’ third straight loss, “everything seems to go wrong.”

Even when things go right. After Belcher hit Ray Durham with two out in the eighth, Angel Manager Terry Collins summoned Magnante, the left-hander, to face Mike Caruso with a 3-2 lead. Chicago Manager Jerry Manuel countered with the right-handed Fordyce.

Magnante threw Fordyce an 0-and-1 screwball, knee-high on the outside corner, “a good pitch on the paint, the pitch I wanted to make,” Magnante said. When Fordyce hit it, Magnante thought it was a routine fly ball and even took a few steps toward the Angel dugout.

“Then I saw Jim [Edmonds] get on his horse and I thought, uh-oh,” Magnante said. “When he hit it, there’s no way you could have told me it would go that far. Jim thought he would catch it.

“I have to tip my cap to Brook. I’ve thrown that pitch before, even worse ones than that, and gotten little ground balls. It was down and away, and that son of a gun hit it to the wall. Belcher threw a phenomenal game. He and this team deserved better than what I gave them tonight.”

Collins pulled Magnante in favor of Mike Fyhrie, who got Frank Thomas to chop a grounder behind third base. Glaus, who is the anti-Dave Hollins--a superb defensive player with such an accurate arm that grounders to third usually are automatic outs--threw it well over first baseman Jeff Huson’s head, as pinch-runner Greg Norton jogged home with the winning run.

Asked if he had a grip problem, Glaus said, “No, it was a throw-it-away problem. I made a bad throw, it happens. I feel as bad as anyone about it, believe me.”

Glaus, hoping to atone for his miscue, doubled with two out in the top of the ninth, but White Sox closer Bob Howry struck out Huson for his 20th save, preserving the victory for James Baldwin (three runs, six hits in eight innings).

About the only consolation for Belcher was that he didn’t get the loss. Shaky in his first two starts after a six-week stint on the disabled list, Belcher was extremely sharp Wednesday night with the exception of two grooved fastballs that Carlos Lee (fifth inning) and Paul Konerko (seventh) hit for solo home runs.

Belcher retired 11 straight batters from the first through fourth innings, walked none and, with the exception of the home runs, allowed no runners to second base.

“Every good start I put up will allow me to not beat myself up as much over the winter,” said Belcher, who is 5-7 with a 6.67 earned-run average. “We need to do something over the next six weeks to revive our sanity.”

These strange losses, in which the Angels blow late-inning leads, aren’t helping. Neither is an offense that does just enough to keep the team in the game, but not enough to win it. The Angels had seven hits Wednesday night and didn’t apply much pressure.

“It sure seems like we’re due for a couple of breaks,” Belcher said. “But sometimes you’ve got to make your own breaks, and we’re not doing a very good job of that.”