Spiezio Walks Off With Homer

Scott Spiezio’s neck was so sore Sunday he thought he might need a chiropractor.

Don’t worry, it’s not what you think.

The Angels did not lose another player to injury after an emotionally draining week in which Kent Mercker suffered a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage, pitcher Ken Hill strained a rib-cage muscle and shortstop Gary DiSarcina was sidelined because of a mysterious shoulder ailment.

Spiezio was just trying to shake the effects of the mugging his teammates gave him at the plate after his home run in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Angels a dramatic 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Texas Rangers before 27,012 at Edison Field.

“It’s a great feeling, it was my first walk-off home run in the big leagues, but I got pummeled by my teammates,” said Spiezio, whose fifth homer of the season was also his first hit in a week.

“I kept trying to look up and couldn’t because I was getting hit in the head. . . . I think I’ll need a little neck adjustment, but I’ll take that every night.”

A pair of two-run home runs by Mo Vaughn, in the first and third innings, and Garret Anderson’s solo homer in the fourth erased a four-run deficit and 5 2/3 innings of superb hitless relief by Al Levine, Eric Weaver and Mark Petkovsek helped preserve a 5-5 tie going into the ninth.

Ivan Rodriguez gave the Rangers a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth with his second pinch-hit homer of the season, a leadoff shot to left off Shigetoshi Hasegawa.

But with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Troy Glaus drove an 0-and-2 Francisco Cordero fastball on the outer half of the plate into the right-center field bleachers for his 10th homer and a 6-6 tie.

The opposite-field shot made up for Glaus’ failure to turn a double play that could have helped Angel starter Jason Dickson escape a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. Instead, the Rangers scored four runs, and Dickson was replaced in the second.

Spiezio then got just enough of a 2-and-2 Cordero slider to lift it a foot or two over the right-field wall, directly over the image of Gene Autry that is superimposed on the fence. In fact, it seemed the former Angel owner was smiling as he watched the game-winning homer sail over his head.

“Any wins are good, but to do it in the fashion we did is exciting,” Glaus said. “We’ve been struggling, we haven’t scored enough runs to win some games lately, and today we put it all together.”

Walk-off home runs always spark wild celebrations at the plate, but this gathering seemed a little more intense than most, the frustration of two straight losses to the Rangers and the concern for Mercker combining to form one giant release of emotion.

“All our hearts are with Merck,” Glaus said of the Angel pitcher, who remained in stable condition in the UCI Medical Center’s intensive care unit. “What he’s going through is above and beyond the game of baseball. That’s real life. It’s nice to win, but when everyone goes home tonight, we’ll be thinking about Merck, hoping he’s OK.”

Vaughn was more than OK Sunday, following Darin Erstad doubles in the first and third innings with two-run homers against Ranger starter Esteban Loaiza, giving him a team-leading 13 home runs and 35 runs batted in and six homers in seven days.

The Angel first baseman talked about how he is growing more comfortable in Edison Field, how he’s not swinging at as many first-pitch breaking balls, how he’s getting into better hitters’ counts, but his success pretty much boils down to one thing: His left ankle, which he severely sprained on opening night in 1999 and spent all of last season hobbling on, feels great.

“Understand this, I’m healthy,” Vaughn said. “That’s the biggest key. Last year I played on one leg, and now I’m healthy. I can play with fire, with an attitude that I can do things.”

New Angel Manager Mike Scioscia is getting what former manager Terry Collins rarely got in 1999: the Mo Vaughn who is an imposing presence in the clubhouse and on the field, the slugger who thrives on pressure situations and often comes through with the big hits.

“This guy is legit,” Scioscia said. “You hear guys talk about what he brings to the team . . . he is one of a handful of guys in the league who makes everyone around him better, who hits left-handers and right-handers equally well, who is a great clutch hitter. Hopefully that will continue this season.”