Kennedy Is Extra Hard on Himself

There was no consoling Adam Kennedy Sunday. It wasn’t so much that the Angel rookie second baseman committed a fifth-inning error that allowed the Devil Rays to score the only run of the game. It was his at-bats in the third and fifth innings, when he failed to knock in runners from second base with two outs.

“I just made a bad throw [in the fifth], but that doesn’t really matter,” Kennedy said. “If I get a hit with a runner in scoring position twice, we would have won. We only needed two runs. I had two chances, and I messed those up too.”

Yes, it’s safe to say that Kennedy is pretty hard on himself. All he did in the Angels’ first 18 games was hit .338 with seven doubles and 15 runs batted in and .407 with runners in scoring position.

And what Sunday’s box score won’t show is that, with Darin Erstad on second base and two outs in the third inning, Kennedy hit a hard liner right at right fielder Dave Martinez.

And with Erstad on second and two outs in the fifth, Kennedy ripped a one-hopper toward the middle that Devil Ray second baseman Miguel Cairo stopped with an excellent play.

“Adam smoked two balls with runners in scoring position,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “They were right at people.”

Kennedy’s throw in the bottom of the fifth was not right at people. After making a nice play to scoop Kevin Stocker’s roller near the second-base bag, he elected to make an off-balance throw instead of stopping to set his feet and fire.

Whether Kennedy had time to gather himself and throw from a more stationary position is open to debate, but to Kennedy, the question was moot. His throw pulled first baseman Mo Vaughn far off the bag, allowing Stocker to reach safely and Fred McGriff to score from third.

“I chose to throw on the run, but I’ve made that throw before,” Kennedy said. “I should have made a better throw. Maybe next time I’ll plant and throw on a play like that. . . . It just goes to show you that whether it’s early in the game or late, one run could be the difference.”

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Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina, on the disabled list since April 9 because of a bruised left thumb, expects to be in the starting lineup tonight when the Angels open a three-game series against Detroit in Edison Field.

In an effort to stay in shape and prevent stagnation during his time on the disabled list, DiSarcina underwent rigorous conditioning workouts on the field during batting practice and rode a stationary bike and did several lower-body exercises during games.

DiSarcina also tried to simulate game situations in in-game workouts, such as running from first to third on a treadmill.

“It was good to be mentally stimulated as opposed to eating sunflower seeds on the bench,” DiSarcina said. “It definitely helped the time go faster.”

DiSarcina’s loss was eased by the more-than-adequate play of his replacement, Benji Gil, but for a moment Sunday it appeared Gil might replace DiSarcina on the sidelines with a left thumb injury.

Gil lost his footing while attempting to dive for Mike DiFelice’s single to left in the seventh inning and landed so awkwardly that the glove came off his left hand. But Gil said he only jammed his thumb a bit, and the injury is not believed to be serious.

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The Angels finished 4-6 on their trip through Chicago, Toronto and Tampa Bay, a journey that included just about everything--some great pitching and some poor pitching, some outstanding hitting and some quiet offensive nights, some solid defense and some suspect defense.

“I saw some positive signs--we got some well-pitched games in Chicago and started to swing the bats in Toronto,” Scioscia said. “But any time you play 10 games on the road and go 4-6, it’s not something you’re particularly satisfied with.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Detroit Tigers, three games.

* Site--Edison Field.

* Tonight--7

* Record vs. Tigers (199)--5-5.

* TV--Fox Sports Net Wednesday.

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

* Records--Angels 9-10, Tigers 4-13.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ KEN HILL (1-3, 8.84 ERA) vs. TIGERS’ DAVE MLICKI (0-3, 7.50)

* Update--If you thought Hill, who has given up 15 earned runs on 16 hits in seven innings of his last two starts, both losses, was struggling, consider the plight of the Tigers. They entered Sunday’s game with baseball’s worst team batting average (.238) and ranked last in runs (58) and home runs (13). Former MVP Juan Gonzalez was batting just .235 with one homer and four RBIs, and new Manager Phil Garner has already held two team meetings because of the lack of production. To make matters worse, second baseman Damion Easley, already on the disabled list because of a strained rib cage, was found to have a hairline fracture in his right wrist, and pitcher Brian Moehler went on the DL after undergoing an emergency appendectomy Saturday. Several Tigers are expected to be suspended for their actions in Saturday’s brawl-filled loss to the White Sox, a game in which 11 players were ejected, but those suspensions are usually appealed, so Detroit shouldn’t be short-handed for this series.

* Tuesday, 7 p.m.--Kent Bottenfield (1-2, 5.64) vs. Hideo Nomo (1-1, 2.52).

* Wednesday, 7 p.m.--Scott Schoeneweis (3-0, 3.76) vs. C.J. Nitkowski (1-3, 7.52).