Little Finger Could Spoil Angel Rally

The Angels’ “Turn Ahead The Clock Night” on Saturday--looking back for this organization may be too painful--became another moment to ponder their present predicament.

Sure, the Angels fought back for a 5-4 victory over Oakland, with nearly everyone contributing. All that was tempered by the sight of pitcher Tim Belcher storming off the mound before the fifth inning with what was described as a sprained pinky finger on his right hand.

He was injured tagging out the Athletics’ Ryan Christenson to end the fourth. It spoiled the moments at which the 29,957 fans at Edison Field could marvel:

Darin Erstad extending himself in left field to make a diving catch, taking a hit and run batted in away from Miguel Tejada in the seventh. Gary DiSarcina getting his first clutch hit of the season, driving home the tying run in the sixth. Garret Anderson driving home Erstad with the go-ahead run a inning later.

The bullpen, from Mike Magnante (2-1), Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Troy Percival (21st save) blanking the A’s after Belcher left.

It was all a part of the Angels’ fourth come-from-behind victory in five games and pulled them to within 7 1/2 games of first-place Texas.

“I believe that you will finish where you’re supposed to finish over the course of a season,” Anderson said. “If you’re a first-place team, you’ll finish first . . . but you have to keep playing like it every day.”

That gets tough as the casualties mount.

Belcher, who signed a two-year, $10.2-million contract before this season, was warming up before the fifth inning, then stopped and headed off the mound.

The preliminary diagnosis seems minor. But then, nothing ever seems to end up minor for the Angels. They have seven players on the disabled list, including outfielders Tim Salmon and Jim Edmonds.

“If they are looking ahead tonight, maybe they could tell us when we will be getting all our guys back,” pitcher Chuck Finley said.

Who could have seen this one coming?

The Athletics had runners on first and third with two out in the fourth, when Belcher picked off Tony Phillips at first. Christenson broke from third base and was caught in a rundown. He slide into home, right into Belcher.

It got Belcher out of the inning, but also forced him to leave the game. Still, it wasn’t as if he was leaving one of his better games.

Ben Grieve homered in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer in the third for a 4-0 lead.

For most teams, that’s not an insurmountable lead. The Angels, though, had scored more than four runs only three times in the previous 29 games.

“We’re kind of scratching and clawing right now,” Finley said. “We have to start playing consistently. I’m not saying we have to win 10 in a row, maybe five of seven.”

The Angels scratched and clawed some more for their fifth victory in six games. Randy Velarde singled home DiSarcina in the second. Steve Decker doubled home Anderson in the fourth and scored when Orlando Palmeiro rolled a single into right.

“It’s all about knowing your roles,” Mo Vaughn said.

Vaughn’s role, at times, is to accept intentional walks in key situations. But Palmeiro? The difference between the two is 235 home runs--Palmeiro has one--and about $79 million. Yet, it was Palmeiro who was walked intentionally, loading the bases in the sixth. DiSarcina, five days removed from the disabled list, lined a single to right to tie the score, 4-4.

Erstad kept the score tied with his diving catch in the top of the seventh and opened the bottom of the inning with a double. One out later, it was Vaughn who was walked intentionally. Anderson, who had driven in two runs in the last 19 games, sent reliever Buddy Groom’s first pitch into center to score Erstad.

“The difference between frustrated and not trying,” Anderson said. “Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference. But I’ve been frustrated all season.”