Angels Save Their Best for Last in 12-7 Victory

Mo Vaughn finally found a way to combat the exaggerated infield shift that opposing teams have been employing to rob hit after hit from the Angel slugger in recent weeks--he hit ‘em where they ain’t.

Vaughn’s three-run home run, a blast over the wall in center field off Seattle reliever Jose Mesa, capped a six-run eighth inning, and he ripped another three-run homer in the ninth to catapult the Angels to a 12-7 come-from-behind victory over the Mariners before 26,431 in the Kingdome.

Vaughn had a career-high five hits and his second six-RBI game of the season, and Angel second baseman Randy Velarde also tied a career high with five hits, including a two-run single in the eighth and a two-run homer in third, to key a rare 16-hit outburst by the Angels.

It was the first time in club history that two players had five hits in a game.

The Angels trailed, 7-3, going into the eighth after starter Chuck Finley was ripped for seven runs--six earned--on six hits in four innings and cleanup batter Todd Greene left seven runners on base in three critical at-bats.

Greene popped up with runners on first and third and one out in the first, he popped up with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth, and he struck out with runners on second and third and one out in the seventh.

This looked like another in a long line of anemic offensive performances by the Angels, who scored four runs or less in 25 of 27 games and hadn’t erased a deficit larger than two runs all season. But the Angels unloaded a month’s worth of frustration on the Mariners in the eighth.

Orlando Palmeiro singled, and reliever Jose Paniagua walked Matt Walbeck and pinch-hitter Matt Luke to load the bases. Seattle Manager Lou Piniella went to Mesa, who walked Darin Erstad to force in a run.

Velarde then lined a single to center for two runs, the second scoring when the 6-foot-5 Luke slid head-first into home, his arms fully extended and the fingertips of his left hand catching the plate just ahead of catcher Dan Wilson’s tag, trimming the lead to 7-6.

Vaughn, who had three RBIs this month, who hadn’t homered since June 12 and entered the game mired in a three-for-26 slump, then smashed Mesa’s first pitch for his 15th homer, and fourth hit of the game, to give the Angels a 9-7 lead.

He wasn’t through. With Erstad, who doubled, on second and Velarde, who reached on a fielder’s choice, on first, Vaughn blistered an Allen Watson pitch so hard it reached the second deck in right field before Vaughn had barely stepped out of the batter’s box.

Opponents have been employing a shift against the Angel slugger when no one is on base, playing the second baseman in the hole, the shortstop to the right of the second-base bag and the third baseman where the shortstop usually is.

The defense can play even deeper than normal on artificial turf, and that helped the Mariners snatch three hits away from Vaughn in this series, including one when shortstop Alex Rodriguez caught Vaughn’s liner in shallow center field.

“Everybody’s been doing that for the past 2 1/2 weeks,” a disgusted Vaughn said. “What are you going to do?”

How about shooting a grounder down the third-base line, something Vaughn is fully capable of?

“That’s just what they want you to do, something different,” Vaughn said. “They’d love for me to hit the ball to left field, but I’m not going to do that.”

The Angels, who remained 8 1/2 games behind Texas, received some more good news earlier Thursday when Ken Hill was found to have no structural damage in his elbow, which tightened up against the Mariners.

Doctors will change the anti-inflammatory medication Hill takes to treat arthritis in his elbow, and the right-hander, who had surgery to shave down a bone spur and remove bone chips in 1998, was listed as day to day.

Manager Terry Collins said there are no plans to put Hill on the disabled list, but he won’t decide whether Hill will make his next start, scheduled for Monday night against Texas, until Saturday. If Hill has to be pushed back, Scott Schoeneweis, Mark Petkovsek or Shigetoshi Hasegawa could make a spot start.