Erstad Not Particular as Long as the Seats Are Full

The Yankees are coming, and you know what that means. Edison Field will turn into South Bronx West, with all the East Coast transplants and bandwagon passengers drowning out Angel fans with their “Let’s Go Yankees” chants.

For years, this has bothered many Angel players, who endure the same kind of treatment on a slightly smaller scale when the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians are in town, but not left fielder Darin Erstad.

When crowds of 23,078, 27,293 and 25,334 show up for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night games against Boston, as they did this week, he doesn’t care who the fans are cheering for.

“I love it when there are a lot more people in the stadium, regardless of who they’re rooting for,” said Erstad, who is two for 20 in his last five games, his average slipping from .368 to .357.

“It’s a good environment, and you can tell it lights a fire under our fans too. That’s better than the normal sound you hear during the game, which is those halogen lights going buzzzzzzzz.”

*

Manager Mike Scioscia calls Shigetoshi Hasegawa “the MVP of our bullpen,” which is the ultimate compliment, considering the bullpen includes closer Troy Percival, a three-time all-star.

Hasegawa has not given up an earned run in 24 innings, a span covering 14 appearances since July 3, and the set-up man recently assumed the closer’s role when Percival went on the disabled list because of inflammation in his elbow last Friday.

But Hasegawa, the Japanese right-hander who recorded his fourth save Monday night against the Red Sox, has not changed his mental approach to the new job, and that has helped him avoid the added stress of protecting leads in the ninth inning of close games.

“I just pretend Percy is going to pitch the 10th inning, and that makes things easier,” said Hasegawa, who is 7-2 with a 3.62 earned-run average. “I’m not a closer. I still feel like a set-up guy.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--New York Yankees, three games.

* Site--Edison Field.

* Tonight--7.

* TV--Fox Sports Net tonight and Saturday night, ESPN2 Sunday night.

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

* Records--Angels 59-56, Yankees 62-48.

* Record vs. Yankees--1-2.

ON DECK

ANGELS’

SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS

(5-6, 5.05 ERA)

vs.

YANKEES’

ORLANDO HERNANDEZ

(8-8, 4.80 ERA)

* Update--The Yankees have begun to pull away in the American League East. Two recent additions, outfielders David Justice (.350, nine homers, 28 runs batted in in 33 games with the Yankees) and Glenallen Hill (.321, four homers, eight RBIs in 10 games), have made significant contributions. There are many new faces, including Luis Sojo, Luis Polonia and Jose Canseco, but the Yankees continue to rely on the core of Bernie Williams (.321, 25 homers, 103 RBIs), Derek Jeter (.314, 79 runs, 51 RBIs) and Paul O’Neill (.311, 13 homers, 78 RBIs).

* Saturday, 7 p.m.--Kent Mercker (0-1, 5.16) vs. Denny Neagle (2-2, 3.93).

* Sunday, 5 p.m.--Ramon Ortiz (4-2, 5.17) vs. Roger Clemens (9-6, 3.73).

* Tickets--(714) 663-9000.