Finally, Angels Are Thinking Big

No one wanted to come right out and say it--after all, it’s only June and there are 88 games left--but the Angels tonight will begin what could be their biggest series of the season when the Texas Rangers visit Edison Field for three games.

Nine days ago the Angels were reeling after a loss in New York dropped them 10 games behind the Rangers. The Angels were spiraling downward at such a pace that there was speculation about trading ace Chuck Finley for prospects in July.

But the Angels have won six of their last seven, including Sunday night’s 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics before 31,782 at Edison Field, to pull to within 6 1/2 games of the Rangers.

A three-game sweep of Texas would move the Angels to within 3 1/2 games of the Rangers a week before the All-Star break. A three-game sweep by the Rangers, on the other hand, would drop the Angels 9 1/2 games back and kill their momentum.

That’s a potential six-game swing, and the difference between the Angels playing for a division title in the second half or playing to stay out of last place.

“This is big for us,” said Steve Sparks, who left Sunday night’s game after walking the bases loaded in the sixth. “It’s early, but we need to make up ground, and we’re playing the division leader. Anything less than winning two of three is not acceptable.”

That’s what Manager Terry Collins and several players stressed. Don’t think sweep. Don’t get ahead of yourself.

“Let’s worry about one game, that’s why we’ve played so good the last two series,” shortstop Gary DiSarcina said. “We’ve taken it game by game, and we haven’t got caught up in being eight or nine back. Once you think you have to take big chunks out of the lead, you start spinning your wheels.”

The Angels usually spin their wheels against Kenny Rogers, the crafty left-hander who entered Sunday’s game with an 11-5 career record and 3.48 earned-run average against Anaheim, including a perfect game in 1994. And they did again in the first inning Sunday night. Only this time, it was around the bases.

Darin Erstad opened the inning with a triple, Randy Velarde hit an RBI single and took third on Mo Vaughn’s single. Todd Greene then singled in a run, Garret Anderson singled in the third run, and a fourth run scored on Steve Decker’s double-play grounder for a 4-0 lead.

The Angels had come from behind to win their previous four games, so this was a chance to show the killer instinct they’ve lacked. Instead, Rogers blanked them on six hits for the next seven innings.

“I think Kenny came out and said, ‘ . . . That’s all you’re getting,’ ” Collins said. “I don’t think it was us. He just made pitch after pitch.”

So did Angel reliever Mark Petkovsek. The right-hander relieved Sparks with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth, and with an assist from Oakland’s Matt Stairs, who made a horrible base-running decision, the A’s emerged with only one run.

Ryan Christenson lifted a sacrifice fly to medium right field to score John Jaha, trimming the Angels’ lead to 4-2, and the lead-footed Stairs, seeing outfielder Reggie Williams throw toward the plate, tagged up from second.

Williams is a career minor leaguer who has never hit well enough to remain in the big leagues, but one thing he does possess is a strong and accurate throwing arm.

He hit Vaughn, the Angel cutoff man, with a perfect throw, and Vaughn’s throw reached third with so much time to spare that Stairs didn’t slide into the bag--he retreated to second and was tagged out by Troy Glaus in a rundown.

After A.J. Hinch’s bunt single, Petkovsek got Tony Phillips on an inning-ending fielder’s choice and retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth.

Troy Percival gave up Tim Raines’ double and Olmedo Saenz’s pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth, but the closer the A’s got, the harder the Angel closer threw. He retired Phillips on a popup, blew three fastballs by Miguel Tejada and retired Ben Grieve on a fly ball for his 22nd save.

Their three-game sweep of the A’s complete, Angel eyes turned to Texas.

“You look on the schedule and pick out spots where you know we have to be up, and I’m starting to feel that,” Vaughn said. “It’s too early to put that kind of pressure on this series, but we should all be excited.”

* TOUGH BREAK: The little finger on Tim Belcher’s pitching hand is broken, not sprained as previously announced. Page 9