They Needed the Win This Much

The Angels had a 10-5 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night, the Devil Rays had two on with two out, and Angel Manager Terry Collins wasn’t going to take any chances.

He pulled reliever Mark Petkovsek for closer Troy Percival, who needed one pitch to retire John Flaherty on a game-ending popup, as the Angels snapped an 11-game losing streak.

“I have all the confidence in the world in Petkovsek, but I have a weapon in the bullpen that most don’t have, and I’ll be damned if I’m not going to use it,” Collins said. “This may not have been a save opportunity for the record, but it was for us. We needed to win.”

Indeed, it had been so long since the Angels won that Mo Vaughn said, “We forgot how to shake hands after the damn game.” Third base coach Larry Bowa said he “didn’t know whether to do eight back flips or two or what.”

Said Jeff Huson: “Honestly, it does feel strange to win. To come in [the clubhouse] and hear music playing? What’s that? Sometimes there’s a feeling on the bench like, ‘Oh God, how are we going to lose this one tonight?’ But I didn’t have that feeling tonight.”

That’s because Garret Anderson hit a two-run home run to give the Angels a 6-1 lead in the fifth, and after Tampa Bay cut it to 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth, Angel reliever Mike Magnante picked Bobby Smith off first for the first out of the sixth. The Angels then added four runs in the eighth.

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Scouts from opposing teams have obviously done a superb job pinpointing the weaknesses of Angel hitters, judging from the way pitchers have exposed them this season.

But they may have overlooked at least one Angel strength: second baseman Randy Velarde, despite missing a year and a half because of elbow reconstruction surgery, has a rifle for an arm. Either that, or teams are simply ignoring their reports.

For the third time in the past two weeks, Velarde gunned down a runner at third trying to stretch a double into a triple, taking a relay from right fielder Tim Salmon in the first inning and cutting down Dave Martinez.

“And every one of those throws was right on the money,” Collins said. “Randy’s arm is 100%.”

Velarde also had a run-scoring double in the second and a bases-loaded walk in the eighth, significant contributions to the Angels’ first victory since July 15.

Of course, this is nothing new for Velarde, who has been the Angels’ most consistent player this season with a .309 average, a team-leading 57 runs and 48 RBIs, a performance the Angels will have to seriously consider rewarding with a contract offer this winter.

“I want to come back here--I still feel this team has the makeup to be successful,” said Velarde, a 36-year-old who will be a free agent after the season. “Plus, the first year I left New York [in 1996] they won the whole damn thing. I don’t want that to happen here.”

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Jim Edmonds continued his minor league rehabilitation assignment with Lake Elsinore by going two-for-four with two RBIs in the Storm’s 7-4 loss Tuesday at Rancho Cucamonga. Edmonds has been out all season because of shoulder surgery.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ JACK McDOWELL (0-1, 1.59 ERA)

vs.

DEVIL RAYS’ RYAN RUPE (4-5, 4.96 ERA)

Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.,

4 PDT

* Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--McDowell will be making his second start after giving up one run on six hits in 5 2/3 innings against Baltimore Friday. The last time the Angels faced Rupe, the young Devil Ray right-hander threw six no-hit innings and nine shutout innings before the Angels scored four in the 10th off closer Roberto Hernandez in 4-0 victory May 23. Angel pitcher Tim Belcher, sidelined since June 27 because of a broken right pinky finger, threw a three-inning simulated game Tuesday, but the Angels won’t decide until today at the earliest whether Belcher will rejoin the rotation early next week.