Angel Runners Full of Folly

The Angels on the basepaths Thursday night looked a lot like those tourists you see on the street corners of Manhattan with maps in their hands and panic in their eyes: lost.

They ran when they should have stopped and stopped when they should have run. The New York Yankees, taking advantage of their misguided vistors, trampled the Angels in a 6-1 victory before 35,180 at Yankee Stadium.

Yankee left-hander Denny Neagle, whom the Angels pounded for six runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings Saturday in Anaheim, rebounded to blank the Angels for 6 2/3 innings Thursday, spoiling a strong effort by Angel left-hander Kent Mercker in his second start back from a cerebral hemorrhage.

But the Angels, who had nine of their 11 hits off Neagle, let the Yankee starter off the hook, running themselves out of promising rallies in the second and seventh innings.

“We had some opportunities,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said, “but we definitely shot ourselves in the foot.”

The smoking gun was in the hand of Angel shortstop Benji Gil, and center fielder Darin Erstad was an accessory to the crime.

With the bases loaded and one out in the second, Erstad lofted a fly ball to medium right, and lead-footed Bengie Molina, tagging from third, ran more than halfway to home before skidding to a stop and turning back.

Gil, who was on first, tagged and headed for second when he saw the throw go over cutoff man Tino Martinez’s head, but Gil didn’t see Molina stop. The Angels wound up with two runners on second, and Gil, who retreated to first, was tagged out in a rundown to end the inning.

“I put my head down to run hard, but by the time I looked up, A.K. [Adam Kennedy] was going back to second,” Gil said. “By then, it was too late. I should have looked sooner.”

With runners at first and third and one out in the seventh, Troy Glaus grounded a single down the third base line, where Scott Brosius made a diving stop well behind the bag.

Gil, who was on third, barely budged--he could have scored easily had he run on contact--and Erstad, who was running from first with the pitch, overran second and was out in a rundown. Yankee reliever Mike Stanton relieved Neagle and struck out Tim Salmon to end the inning.

“The ball was hit right at me, and I kind of froze,” Gil said. “I don’t know if Darin was more stunned by Brosius making the play or me still being at third. I should have gone on contact. That shouldn’t happen.”

Mercker limited a potent Yankee lineup to two runs on three hits, including Glenallen Hill’s second-inning homer, in five innings. He struck out four, walked three, and of his 88 pitches, 54 were strikes, a marked improvement over Saturday’s 3 2/3-inning, three-run, five-hit effort against New York. The Angels trailed, 2-0, when he departed.

But for the second straight game, the domino effect took a heavy toll on the Angel bullpen.

Troy Percival, Al Levine and Mike Fyhrie are down with injuries, and Mark Petkovsek needed a day off, so instead of going to his front-line relievers in the sixth inning of a tight game in the middle of a pennant race, Scioscia went with little-used Juan Alvarez and Eric Weaver.

And down went the Angels.

Alvarez gave up a two-run homer to Justice, and Weaver gave up a solo homer to Luis Sojo, as the Yankees scored three runs in the sixth to push the lead to 5-0.

Justice added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and the Angels avoided the shutout with Scott Spiezio’s pinch-hit homer off reliever Jason Grimsley in the ninth.

“Some of our young pitchers got nicked up in the sixth--Alvarez left a breaking ball over the inner half to Justice, and Weaver got a pitch up to Sojo,” Scioscia said. “We’re a little shaggy in the bullpen with injuries and guys needing rest.”

The Angels were also a little ragged on the basepaths, and while their blunders may not have cost them the game, they left a bitter aftertaste.

“It’s frustrating to have a bad game and not help the team win games that are so crucial,” Gil said.

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Chipper Jones, Braves agree to six-year deal said to be worth $90 million.

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