Erstad Doesn’t Let Victory Get Away From the Angels

The ball cleared the fence, but that would not do. Darin Erstad simply had to catch that ball, to bring that ball back over the fence.

Erstad extended his arm over the left field fence, all but smacking a fan in the process. If Erstad could not catch that ball, Troy Percival would blow another save, Manager Mike Scioscia would be second-guessed with venom, and the Angels’ morale would be somewhere south of low.

So Erstad reached over the fence, the hopes of his team reaching with him. Erstad caught that ball and preserved a 3-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals Wednesday before 16,169 at Edison Field.

And that fan in the front row, the one that saw that ball coming right at him and did not get out of the way when he saw Erstad coming right at him?

“Whatever happened to the hometown fan?” Erstad said, mixing a smile with a sigh of relief.

“It’s like a war zone out there. When the ball gets over the wall, it’s a free-for-all. I guess the fans have as much right to that ball as we do.”

Scioscia smiled. Much better than dodging bullets, which he would have had to do if Erstad had not stolen that home run from the fan, Jermaine Dye and the Royals. Erstad had contributed plenty to the Angels’ cause already, driving in all three runs, including two on his 14th home run.

“It was the Darin Erstad Show tonight, wasn’t it?” Scioscia said. “He was sensational all the way around.”

So was Jarrod Washburn, who pitched eight shutout innings.

When Brian Cooper pitched eight shutout innings last week at Tampa Bay, and Percival blew the shutout--and a 3-0 lead--in the ninth, Scioscia said he removed Cooper because the Angels were in a save situation and saving games is Percival’s job.

But, after Washburn pitched eight shutout innings Wednesday, he returned for the ninth inning. The score was 3-0, and the Angels were in a save situation, but Scioscia left Percival in the bullpen, warming up. Scioscia said he liked Washburn against the hitters due up.

Rey Sanchez singled. Johnny Damon dragged a bunt, but Washburn threw him out. David McCarty singled. So, with Carlos Beltran representing the tying run, out came Scioscia. Out came Washburn, to a standing ovation.

And in came Percival, to a round of boos. Percival had blown the save Tuesday, giving up four consecutive hits without getting an out.

Beltran singled, and Sanchez scored. The boos resumed.

Then Dye hit that ball, the one that could have cleared the fence, the one that would have given the Royals a 4-3 lead and given Percival another blown save.

“I got pretty nervous,” Washburn said. “My heart jumped up a little bit.”

The ball was gone, and then it was back. Erstad had made the catch. The next batter, Mike Sweeney, flied out.

The Angels had won. Percival had his save.

“It was great to be able to pick him up,” Erstad said. “He’s picked us up so many times.”

Percival insisted the victory was important for the team, not the save for him. He was happy to get the save, he said, but Scioscia didn’t need to worry about rushing Percival back into action to restore his confidence. “It would have been an issue earlier in my career,” Percival said. “But I’ve blown enough of them in my career. I could have blown that one and still come out tomorrow and be fine.”

With Ken Hill scheduled to return Wednesday, the Angels will drop one of their young starters from the rotation. Seth Etherton will probably draw that short straw. Cooper could draw it too.

But Washburn figures to stick around. In eight starts, he is 3-1 with a 3.46 earned-run average. Toss out his first start, and he’s 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA.

“You can’t pitch much better than that,” Scioscia said.

Washburn came far closer to a no-hitter than the box score would indicate. In the first eight innings, he gave up two hits, both singles and one of the infield variety. He was within two outs of what would have been his first major league shutout.

“I hope I get one someday,” he said, “but it’s no big deal tonight. We got the win.”