Angels Win the Game, Rangers Lose Rodriguez

Maybe this was some kind of perverse payback, the baseball gods trying to balance the ledger for Texas pitcher Darren Oliver hitting Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn in the head with a fastball last week, or for Vaughn and the Angels suffering so many injuries in 1999.

Either way, the Rangers definitely got the worst of it Monday night.

Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez, the American League’s 1999 most valuable player and a strong candidate to repeat, broke a bone in his right thumb when he hit Vaughn’s bat while throwing to second base in the first inning of the Angels’ 6-5, 12-inning victory before 33,201 at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Rodriguez, who ranks among league leaders in average (.347), home runs (27), runs batted in (83) and extra-base hits (58) and is baseball’s best defensive catcher, an eight-time Gold Glove-award winner with a cannon for an arm, will undergo surgery today and is out for the season.

“Everyone always asks what player a team can ill-afford to lose--he definitely falls under that category,” Ranger General Manager Doug Melvin said. “We’re going to miss that threat he has behind the plate throwing, and you’re taking the cleanup batter out of our lineup.”

Adding insult to injury, Ranger closer John Wetteland blew a three-run lead in the ninth, giving up Bengie Molina’s RBI double and Scott Spiezio’s two-out, two-run homer. Texas had what it thought was the winning run sent back to third in the 10th, and the Rangers lost it in the 12th when Tim Salmon singled home Adam Kennedy with the winning run.

Angel reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa pitched three scoreless innings to gain the victory, improving to 7-2, and closer Troy Percival pitched a scoreless 12th for his 23rd save.

Hasegawa appeared to lose the game in the 10th when home-plate umpire Gerry Davis called him for a balk with runners on second and third and one out. But after Manager Mike Scioscia’s protest and input from the other three umpires, Davis reversed his call and sent Scarborough Green back to third.

Hasegawa, with left fielder Darin Erstad pulled in to the infield, got Gabe Kapler to pop to catcher Molina and Royce Clayton to fly out to center, extending the game to the 11th.

“He stepped off the rubber [before moving his hands], and I don’t know if Gerry, from his angle, could see it,” Scioscia said. “You’ve got to give him credit. Two other umps said he stepped off, and they made the right call. . . . We sure brought this one back from the edge a couple of times.”

Some four hours earlier, the Rangers suffered an even bigger loss. With Kevin Stocker running from first on Kenny Rogers’ full-count pitch in the first, Vaughn struck out swinging, his momentum taking him toward the outside part of the plate.

Rodriguez threw out Stocker, but on his follow-through, the inside of his right thumb hit Vaughn’s bat, breaking the first metacarpal bone. Rodriguez knew immediately something was wrong.

“As soon as I hit it, my fingers went numb,” Rodriguez said during an in-game news conference. “I didn’t feel anything. From that moment, I just knew it was broken.”

X-rays confirmed Rodriguez’s suspicion. And Vaughn’s worst fears.

“I was worried about him all game,” said Vaughn, who phoned Rodriguez in the Ranger clubhouse after the play. “We’ve been friends for a long time, and I was hoping he’d be fine. It’s unfortunate it happened to a guy like that, a guy who could be the best catcher ever, because I enjoy playing against him. Baseball will definitely miss him.”

Rodriguez held no ill feelings toward Vaughn.

“I know he didn’t do it on purpose,” Rodriguez said. “Mo is a very clean player. He swung the bat and came across the plate. It happens to everyone.”

So do injuries, but Melvin has to be wondering if the Rangers’ long procession to the operating room will ever end.

Pitcher Justin Thompson and third baseman Tom Evans both had season-ending surgery to repair rotator cuffs in May. Center fielder Ruben Mateo broke his leg in June and is out for the year. Relievers Danny Kolb and Mike Munoz both had season-ending elbow surgery.

The Rangers were struggling before Rodriguez’s injury, losing 24 of their last 40 games to fall 10 1/2 games back. Now, their pennant chances seem remote.

“This is when the veterans need to stand up. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Melvin said. “We may not score as many runs without Pudge, so we have to pitch better and play better defense.”