Angels Report : There’s a Different Way to Lose Every Night

Some days it’s a lack of offense. Some days the defense breaks down. Some days the bullpen blows up. Some days the starting pitcher is bombed.

“It’s disappointing that we can’t figure out a way to win,” center fielder Jim Edmonds said after the Angels lost their sixth consecutive game, falling to the Indians, 7-5, Monday night. “You could flip a coin every day and see which part of your game is going to give you a loss.”

A coin? The Angels might need a pair of dice to have enough sides to accommodate all their shortcomings.

Monday night they hit three home runs off Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon, a solo shot by Mo Vaughn in the second inning, a three-run shot by Garret Anderson that tied the score, 4-4, in the third, and a solo shot by Edmonds in the fourth. Considering Colon was hitting 100 mph on the Jacobs Field radar gun, that was quite an accomplishment.

But Angel youngster Ramon Ortiz suffered his first shaky outing, walking six and giving up a three-run home run to light-hitting leadoff man Dave Roberts in the second, and reliever Al Levine couldn’t hold a one-run lead in the seventh, his own throwing error contributing to his demise.

Roberts led off the seventh with a double, and Levine, after fielding Omar Vizquel’s bunt, double-pumped before throwing wildly past first, allowing Roberts to score and tie the score, 5-5.

Indian second baseman Roberto Alomar doubled home Vizquel for a 6-5 lead, Vizquel’s two-out, RBI single made the score 7-5 in the eighth, and Alomar helped preserve the victory with a phenomenal defensive play in the ninth.

After Darin Erstad’s leadoff single, Jeff Huson ripped a grounder deep into the hole. Alomar dove to his left to make the stop and, practically from his stomach, made a 30-foot back-hand flip to first for the out.

“I’ll see him at the ESPYs to present the award to him,” Huson said. “Three or four guys told me that was the best play they’ve ever seen.”

*

The Houston Astros, locked in a tight race with Cincinnati for the National League Central title and in desperate need of some outfield help, have held trade talks with the Angels about Anderson, a baseball source said.

The deadline to acquire players to be eligible for the postseason is tonight, and the Astros are also talking to San Francisco about Stan Javier. It is believed both players have cleared waivers, making a deal possible.

Houston has played all season without the injured Moises Alou, left fielder Richard Hidalgo is out for the year, right fielder Derek Bell is on the disabled list, and center fielder Carl Everett strained his groin Sunday and is out for at least a week.

Anderson is batting .293 with 18 home runs and 62 RBIs and can play all three outfield positions, but he is batting .246 with runners in scoring position and has grounded into a team-leading 13 double plays.

Tonight ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (8-11, 4.88 ERA) vs. INDIANS’ DWIGHT GOODEN (3-3, 5.81 ERA)

Jacobs Field, Cleveland, 4 p.m.

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--In five August starts, Finley is 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA and 40 strikeouts in in 37 1/3 innings. Gooden will be making his first start since Aug. 2 at Boston, when the right-hander was pulled after 2 2/3 innings because of soreness in his right shoulder and was put on the disabled list the next day.