Friends and Family Look on as Weaver, Tigers Stop Angels

Angel starter Jarrod Washburn needed some Levine intervention Saturday night, and reliever Al Levine came through, getting out of a fourth-inning, bases-loaded, no-outs jam that made Washburn’s pitching line a lot less ugly than it could have been.

Gary DiSarcina had no such help. The Angel shortstop felt shipwrecked in the middle of the infield with no relief in sight, committing three errors in one game for the first time in his career as the Angels lost to the Detroit Tigers, 5-0, before 28,575 in Edison Field.

Not that it really mattered. Tiger starter Jeff Weaver, a former Simi Valley High star who was pitching in front of about 100 family members and friends, had the best game of his rookie season, shutting out the Angels on three hits over seven innings for his first victory since May 27.

But the whole point of the remaining five weeks of this lost season is for the Angels to at least play well, to make them feel better about themselves going into the off-season, to build some kind of momentum for 2000.

Mission unaccomplished Saturday night. DiSarcina made a throwing error on the first play of the game that wasn’t costly, but his throwing and fielding errors paved the way for two unearned runs in the eighth.

They helped Detroit load the bases with no outs, and the Angels nearly escaped again when second baseman Trent Durrington made a nice play on Gabe Kapler’s grounder and threw home for an out and Kimera Bartee missed a squeeze bunt, catcher Matt Walbeck tagging out Damion Easley in a rundown.

Two pitches later, with runners on second and third, Bartee lined a single to left. Garret Anderson appeared to have an excellent shot at Kapler, who was a good 10 feet from third when Anderson caught the ball, but Anderson didn’t even attempt to throw home, as two runs scored.

“Any time you have to go laterally in the outfield it’s tough to throw a guy out,” Anderson said. “And that guy runs pretty well. I couldn’t throw that ball.”

Neither could DiSarcina, who bounced one bad throw in front of first baseman Mo Vaughn and threw another a few feet over his head. Weaver, on the other hand, had no such troubles.

Weaver had gone 13 consecutive starts without a victory, notching seven no-decisions and six losses from June 1 to Aug. 16. But the movement on his pitches that had deserted him for much of the past 2 1/2 months returned Saturday night, as Weaver baffled the Angels with his tailing fastball and sidearm curve, striking out seven and walking two.

Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the first when Kapler reached on an infield single, was sacrificed to second, took third on Gregg Jefferies’ long fly ball to center, which Jim Edmonds made an over-the-shoulder catch of, and scored on Washburn’s wild pitch.

Washburn did not allow a run in the second despite giving up two singles to open the inning, but he had no such luck in the fourth after Dean Palmer and Tony Clark opened with singles.

Juan Encarnacion doubled to right-center, scoring Palmer, and walks to Easley and Bill Haselman forced in another run to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. But Levine got Kapler to pop out, Bartee to strike out and Jefferies to fly out, ending the inning.

“I thought I had pretty good stuff, and then in the fourth inning I blew up,” Washburn said. “I really can’t explain it. . . . I don’t feel any different than last year. I’m not intimidated because I’m in the big leagues. My command is terrible, which is causing me to walk guys, and I’m getting hurt.”