Angels Take Walk and Take Win, 8-7

Trapped by an accident on the 57 Freeway, Dodger Manager Davey Johnson didn’t arrive at Edison Field for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against the Angels until 11:15 a.m., more than an hour later than usual.

The news that greeted him was as disturbing as the traffic: Todd Hollandsworth will be sidelined at least a week by a right hamstring strain suffered in Saturday’s game.

For Johnson and his team, already strapped by injuries and limited manpower, the situation would get even tighter--as illustrated by catcher Chad Kreuter’s reaction to what would be the final pitch of the Dodgers’ 8-7 loss to the resilient Angels.

Kreuter flung the ball to the ground--not so much upset that Antonio Osuna had delivered a walk to Orlando Palmeiro with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 7-7 tie, but that a tightening strike zone appeared to consistently favor the Angels, particularly over the final two innings, when they rallied from a 7-5 deficit for three runs.

Kreuter said his response was definitely directed at rookie umpire Chris Guccione.

“The strike zone was tight both ways, but it kept getting a little tighter in the Angels’ favor,” Kreuter said. “We kept throwing pitches that were hitting my glove, and I know I wasn’t setting up for balls. When you’re do or die in the late innings you need those pitches, and what it does is force you into a different mind-set, limits what you do as a pitcher.

“You can’t throw anything that breaks on the plate because you’re not going to get the call. You have to stay with straight stuff, fastballs and changeups, and when you’re dealing with hitters like Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon, Darin Erstad and Troy Glaus . . . well, you’re rolling the dice when you have to throw the ball into a coffee can.”

The funny thing about all this was that Angel relief pitchers Mike Fyhrie and Troy Percival absolutely percolated.

They shut out the Dodgers on three hits and no walks over the final 3 2/3 innings, enabling the Angels to complete their rally from early 4-0 and 7-3 deficits and win two of the three games from the Dodgers, who would cite called third strikes on Shawn Green and Gary Sheffield in the seventh inning as indicative of how Guccione’s zone widened with Angel pitchers on the hill.

“He was giving Angel pitchers everything,” said Carlos Perez, who turned in another mixed effort of six innings. “I walked four guys and know I made very good pitches, but he never gave us the inside corner. You can’t pitch your game. I watched the last two innings on television and know that Antonio had [Kevin] Stocker and Glaus struck out.”

Stocker walked on a full-count pitch to open the ninth, and Glaus walked on a full-count pitch to load the bases. “I’m upset that we lost and that I walked those guys, but I thought I made a lot of good pitches,” said Osuna, echoing a theme.

Of course, Dodger problems go beyond Guccione’s strike zone.

Johnson, whose strength is mixing and matching and juggling a bullpen, is devoid of a left-handed reliever that he trusts--”It’s real tough,” he said of Onan Masaoka, “because in a close game I have to have more confidence he can get it over the plate”--and is further handicapped by the current unavailability of closer Jeff Shaw as he attempts to strengthen his shoulder. All of that on top of the bullpen’s general inconsistency--not to forget that the Dodgers have seven players on the disabled list, including the starting center fielder Devon White; third baseman Adrian Beltre and catcher Todd Hundley.

Hollandsworth wasn’t put on the disabled list because the Dodgers hope he will recover faster than the 15 days he would have to be out and they are running out of options at Albuquerque. By the same token, Johnson is running out of center fielders and leadoff-type hitters--of which he has been limited all along.

“I don’t have a lot of choices,” Johnson said. “We traded a couple left-handed leadoff types [Roger Cedeno and Peter Bergeron] and we have a couple others down [Hollandsworth and White]. There’s not a lot else in sight.”

For the finale with the Angels, Johnson played F.P. Santangelo in center field, gave Sheffield something of a rest by employing him as the designated hitter, and used Shawn Gilbert, recalled Saturday from Albuquerque, as the left fielder and leadoff hitter.

Santangelo, who will be the regular center fielder over the next week, at least, came in needing binoculars to see the Mendoza line.

He was hitting .117 but, dropped to ninth in the batting order, had two singles and two walks, and his hopeful manager said, “He’s a gamer. Even though he’s been in a horrendous slump, he’s been getting on 30% of the time. He’ll be OK.”

Kreuter, filling in for Hundley again, had a homer, double and walk in lifting a hitting streak to 10 games.

The Dodgers had 11 hits, including an Eric Karros home run that put within one of Ron Cey’s L.A. Dodger career record.

And while Johnson joined the chorus bemoaning the strike zone and that final walkoff walk--”It’s a tough way to lose because we scored enough to win,” he said--he is confident the offense can survive the Hollandsworth hit to the injury siege.

He reflected on the club’s depth and said:

“We’re still in much better shape than we would have been a year ago. A year ago, I’d have hung myself.”

On Sunday, he wanted to hand the noose to the plate umpire.