Angels’ Bottenfield Gets Under Devil Rays’ Skin

Kent Bottenfield pulled an inside job Sunday on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The visitors swore the Angel right-hander had an accomplice in home plate umpire Doug Eddings, who had either the most liberal interpretation of the inside corner in history or the world’s greatest strike zone, depending on who you asked.

Opinions aside, these facts are indisputable: Bottenfield gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings and struck out a season-high nine, including four looking at inside fastballs, to lead the Angels to a 5-2 victory before 25,613 at Edison Field.

Bottenfield (2-3) did not walk a batter, and his only mistake was a hanging curve that Vinny Castilla launched over the center-field wall for a two-run home run in the seventh.

But the Angels had a five-run lead by then, scoring three in the first on singles by Darin Erstad, Adam Kennedy, Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon and Orlando Palmeiro, one in the fourth on Troy Glaus’ team-leading seventh home run, and one in the sixth on Erstad’s RBI single, which gave him a major league-record 48 hits in April.

Bottenfield, meanwhile, subdued the American League’s second-ranked offense with a fuel-injected fastball--he was hitting 88-91 mph on the speed gun, compared to his usual 85-87 mph--a good curve and changeup and excellent command.

“He was awesome, it was like painting a picture, it was incredible,” Angel catcher Matt Walbeck said. “He worked the inside corner to right-handers as good as you could do it.

“By doing that, he could afford to make mistakes up and around the plate, because guys are on their heels, guarding the inside. It keeps them from leaning outside, too. When you throw strikes inside to power hitters you can hurt their pride a bit. They’re like, ‘How dare you throw in there?’ ”

Bottenfield struck out hot-hitting Greg Vaughn and leadoff batter Gerald Williams three times each. He caught cleanup batter Jose Canseco and Castilla looking at inside fastballs in the fourth, the latter with runners on second and third to end the inning.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Castilla, who argued with Eddings after the strikeout. “That pitch was way inside, and it wasn’t just me. It was Jose twice, Vaughn twice. I’m a guy who never argues, but . . . “

Bottenfield, of course, thought Eddings called a great game, and proponents of pitching, those who would like to see a little more sanity and balance in a game that seems so skewed toward offense and home runs, would agree.

“The bottom line is that’s how a game can be pitched when the inside strike is called,” Bottenfield said. “He didn’t give me anything off the plate. Those guys were so far in, they thought balls on the inside corner were off the plate. I was able to hit that spot consistently.

“A lot of times, when the hitter is right on top of the plate, an umpire can lose sight of the strike zone. But as long as you get the inside strike, you can go outside more effectively, too, and you’ll see lower-scoring games.”

Bottenfield had a shutout until Canseco singled and Castilla homered in the seventh, but he recovered to retire John Flaherty on a pop to third and Kevin Stocker on a fly to center.

Mark Petkovsek retired the side in order in the eighth, and Troy Percival, after allowing the Devil Rays to load the bases in the ninth, retired Flaherty (popup to second) and Stocker (fly to center) for his sixth save.

The news wasn’t all good on the Angel pitching front, though.

Jason Dickson, who was pulled from Friday night’s game in the second inning because of a strained left hip flexor, was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, and right-handed reliever Eric Weaver was recalled from triple-A Edmonton.

Dickson, who went 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA in five starts but had been one of the Angels’ best pitchers until he was roughed up for six runs Friday, wasn’t scheduled to start again until Saturday.

He will be replaced in the rotation by left-handed reliever Kent Mercker.

“As he was further examined by Dr. [Lewis] Yocum, it didn’t make a lot of sense to try to rush him back to the mound,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of Dickson. “We want to err on the side of caution.”