Erstad Turns on the Power in 7-6 Win Over Twins

Darin Erstad was a leadoff batter and a closer all in the one night Sunday, opening the first inning with a home run and finishing the game with a dramatic two-out homer in the 11th, his bookend bombs leading the Angels to a 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins before 19,391 in Edison Field.

That Erstad hit the Angels’ third walk-off homer of the season was not surprising--he’s having a remarkable year, hitting .371 with 16 homers and 57 runs batted in and a major league-leading 119 hits, and he’s batting .377 with runners in scoring position.

That it came off Twin left-hander Eddie Guardado was a bit of a shock. Guardado had owned Erstad, who had one infield single in nine career at-bats against Guardado, but he caught too much of the plate with a 1-0 slider, and Erstad lined it into the right-field seats for the game-winner.

“He’s had my number as long as I can remember--he’s just dominated me,” Erstad said. “He’s one of the best left-handed relievers in the league, and that was probably the first mistake he’s ever made against me. Fortunately, I took advantage of it.”

Guardado has the requisite fastball and breaking ball to survive in the big leagues but has thrived because he hides the ball so well, making him very deceptive. He had thrown 3 2/3 hitless innings--his longest outing of the year--when Erstad stepped up in the 11th, so when Erstad says he wasn’t looking to hit a home run, you believe him.

“He’s one of those guys I don’t see the ball well against,” said Erstad, who popped out against Guardado in the ninth. “I can think, ‘Drive the ball to the gap,’ but if I start thinking home run, I probably do what I did in the previous at-bat against him.”

Erstad’s homer made a winner of Shigetoshi Hasegawa, who threw two hitless relief innings after giving up three runs on five hits Saturday night. Mark Petkovsek added two scoreless innings, the strong combined relief effort all the more important because closer Troy Percival, who had an extensive pregame workout trying to iron out his mechanics, was not available Sunday night.

Erstad also took teammate Orlando Palmeiro and Manager Mike Scioscia off the hook--Palmeiro bunted into a double play when he popped up a suicide-squeeze attempt in the eighth inning of a 6-6 game.

Bengie Molina had opened the eighth with a ground-rule double, and Scott Spiezio singled him to third. Scioscia sent Adam Kennedy in to run for Molina and Palmeiro in to hit for Edgard Clemente, and Twin Manager Tom Kelly countered with Guardado.

In an effort to camouflage the squeeze, Scioscia even sent slugger Troy Glaus, who did not start because of lower-back stiffness, to the on-deck circle, even though he had no intention of letting Glaus hit.

Guardado threw a fastball off the plate, and Palmeiro popped his bunt to third baseman Corey Koskie, who turned the easy double play.

“I thought that was a good matchup for a squeeze,” Scioscia said. “Orlando is an outstanding bunter, and nine times out of 10, he gets that bunt down.”

Little Ball didn’t work for the Angels in the eighth, but it did in the seventh, when they tied the game with a two-run rally in which one ball left the infield.

Justin Baughman, playing in his first big league game since 1998 after missing the 1999 season because of a broken leg, reached with one out on Twins shortstop Jason Maxwell’s throwing error.

Erstad singled to left, advancing Justin Baughman to third, and Erstad stole second. Benji Gil’s grounder to second scored Baughman and moved Erstad to third, and after Mo Vaughn walked, Tim Salmon ripped a grounder down the third-base line. Koskie made a nice diving stop but had no play, and Erstad scored to make it 6-6.

The Angels went the long-ball route early in the game, building a 4-1 lead on Erstad’s first-inning homer and Garret Anderson’s three-run blast in the fourth.

Later Erstad dialed long distance again for the win.

“Darin is not a leadoff batter--he’s batting No. 1 in our lineup, but he could bat one through five on any team in the league,” Scioscia said. “Even by All-Star standards he’s having a phenomenal year.”