Power Hasn’t Always Meant Runs

The Angels are not merely on pace to break their franchise record of 192 home runs, set in 1996. They’re on pace to challenge the major league record of 264 homers, set by the Seattle Mariners in 1997.

Darin Erstad homered to lead off the first inning Sunday, Garret Anderson smacked a three-run homer in the fourth, and Erstad won it with a homer in the 11th, giving the Angels 119 homers on the season and putting them on pace for 260.

With Troy Glaus (23), Mo Vaughn (20), Anderson (20) and Tim Salmon (17) leading the way, the Angels could have four players with 20 homers by the All-Star break for the first time in club history. They’ve hit 19 homers in their last eight games.

Even though the Angels rank second in the American League in homers and second in team batting average (.288), they rank only sixth in the league with 398 runs, which begs the question: Are the Angels relying too much on the long ball and not concentrating enough on manufacturing runs?

“I don’t know, maybe we’re not hitting them at the right time,” Vaughn said before Sunday’s game. “We’re not trying to hit home runs; we’re just trying to drive the ball, and the homers are coming.”

Manager Mike Scioscia thinks the Angels have a lot more to offer offensively than power. They have some good situational hitters, players who can hit and run, draw walks and steal bases, and they rank second in the league in on-base percentage (.358).

“We can put some pressure on opposing teams,” Scioscia said.

They haven’t been lately. The Angels ranked second in stolen bases for much of April and May but went 13 consecutive games without a stolen base until Erstad swiped second in the seventh inning Sunday. They have five stolen bases this month and, after stealing 40 bases in April and May, rank sixth in the league in that department.

“Our running game has been stuck in the mud, but we haven’t had a lot of opportunities, and you can’t force the running game,” Scioscia said. “But we’ve executed some hit-and-run plays.”

As for the home runs, Scioscia doesn’t believe the Angels are swinging for the fences.

“We’ve addressed a lot of that, particularly with guys like Garret,” Scioscia said, alluding to Anderson being one shy of his career-high 21 homers. “Guys are just swinging the bats well. If we were hitting .210 as a team there might be a problem, but the only guy with a subpar average is Garret [.241].”

*

Vaughn sees the video clips out of New York and cringes every time he sees another routine throw by Yankee second baseman Chuck Knoblauch sail over the first baseman’s head or in the dirt in front of him.

Vaughn was a teammate of Knoblauch for two summers in the Cape Cod League in the late 1980s, and he has a hard time picturing a Knoblauch who is so emotionally worn by his throwing problem that he has contemplated retirement.

“This guy was so fearless he entered a home run-hitting contest against me and Frank Thomas in the Cape Cod League,” Vaughn said. “He’s a hustler, a guy who beat the odds, a guy who could do anything he wanted to do.”

Knoblauch, 31, is a year younger than Vaughn. He helped the Twins win the 1991 World Series as a rookie leadoff batter and has played on three world champion Yankee teams.

“I want him to go out on top, not as a guy who’s retiring because of a throwing problem,” Vaughn said. “He’s still in great shape . . . I don’t want him to give up. He just has to work his way through this.”

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ JARROD WASHBURN

(3-1, 3.46 ERA)

vs.

TWINS’ BRAD RADKE

(4-9, 4.12 ERA)

Edison Field, 1 p.m.

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Angel third baseman Troy Glaus, suffering from lower back stiffness, did not start Sunday for the first time this season, but he is expected back today. Washburn has been the Angels’ best pitcher since his rocky outing against the Dodgers on June 4, when the left-hander gave up seven runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. In three starts since, Washburn has given up only three runs on 11 hits in 22 1/3 innings of wins over the Diamondbacks and Royals and a no-decision against the Devil Rays. Angel starters have lasted at least five innings in 28 of the team’s last 29 games. Radke, the Twins’ ace, is having a subpar season but has always been tough on the Angels, with an 8-4 record and 1.76 ERA against them.

* Tickets--(714) 663-9000.