Ortiz’s Five Innings Give Angels a Look at a Promising Future : Baseball: Striking out Canseco twice, the right-hander provides a hint of what might come in 7-5 win over Tampa Bay.

Not since Jim Abbott, more than a decade ago, has there been an Angel pitcher this young, this charismatic, and with this kind of long-term potential.

Ramon Ortiz, the wiry right-hander with the curious hobby of catching and releasing birds with nothing more than his bare hands and bald guile, began the season in double-A and will end it smack in the middle of next season’s most optimistic plans.

After a handful of so-so starts, Ortiz was closer to dynamic Tuesday night at Edison Field, where he pitched five promising innings and the Angels defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-5.

The victory, the first for Ortiz (2-3) since his major-league debut Aug. 19 in Chicago, was driven as well by seven two-out runs by the Angels, two on Gary DiSarcina’s first home run in 15 months.

“It was not my best game,” Ortiz said. “But, I’m happy we got a win.” It was the second in a row for the Angels, whose 63rd victory meant little more than confidence for Ortiz.

While his signature fastball was crisp, Ortiz had a devastating changeup that twice helped to strike out Jose Canseco at the game’s most critical junctures. Ortiz gave up four hits--three singles and an opposite-field double--and three runs. He walked four.

“I have learned a lot,” Ortiz said. “I’ve gotten a lot of experience. The future can be good because of what I’m doing right now. I’m watching the veteran pitchers, too.”

A lot of innings have passed since Ortiz reported for the instructional league last fall, with only a few short breaks in between. The organization figures he is fatigued, a reason interim manager Joe Maddon took the ball away in the sixth inning, after 83 pitches. “The guy,” Maddon said, “has worked a lot.”

It had been something of a struggle for Ortiz since his first two starts, when he gave up three runs in 15 innings. In four starts before Tuesday, the runs and walks came with regularity, so much so that Ortiz began to wonder about his once tireless arm.

“I was worried a little bit,” he said. “I wasn’t feeling comfortable. I didn’t feel the strength in my legs. Now, with this outing, I feel a little better.”

Though he required eight pitches to locate plate umpire Joe Brinkman’s strike zone, Ortiz refrained from the fastball-off-the-facemask retaliation pitch that so angered John Shulock the night before.

In the first inning, Ortiz walked leadoff hitter Miguel Cairo on four pitches, then threw three balls to Dave Martinez before strike 1 brought a sarcastic cheer from a crowd that otherwise seemed only mildly interested.

Martinez lined the next pitch into right-center field. Cairo, who had advanced to second on a wild pitch during Ortiz’s first hectic moments, scored unchallenged.

What happened next, however, might have altered the course of Ortiz’s seventh big-league start. Faced with the bulk of Canseco and the potential for a very fast, very large deficit, Ortiz became a very good pitcher.

He threw a changeup that Canseco swung over. He threw a fastball that Canseco fouled off of the bat handle. He threw a changeup away that Canseco missed.

Just like that, the hard and heavy strikes flowed from Ortiz’s willowy frame. Fred McGriff flied out and Herbert Perry grounded out and the Devil Rays’ inning died when it appeared to be just getting started.