Vaughn Hesitates, and Game Is Lost

Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn and Carlos Beltran of the Kansas City Royals played a little game of chicken in the 10th inning Saturday night, which was fitting on an evening the Famous Chicken entertained a crowd of 30,024 at Kauffman Stadium.

Beltran worked up a full head of steam and never stopped, Vaughn veered away at the last second, and the Angels wound up in a ditch on the side of the road, forced to live with the indignity of the Royals forging a 6-5 victory on a sacrifice fly to first base.

“Boy, you see a new play every day, don’t you?” Angel left fielder Darin Erstad said of the odd finish. “Holy cow.”

The Royals had tied the score on Dave McCarty’s pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth off Troy Percival--the first homer he had given up since April 4--handing the Angel closer his second blown save in four days, and they appeared well on their way to victory when they loaded the bases with no outs against Angel reliever Eric Weaver in the 10th.

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia brought Erstad to the infield, hoping to plug as many holes as he could, and stationed Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson in the outfield. The strategy worked, putting the Angels on the brink of a Houdini-like escape.

Jorge Fabregas grounded what looked to be a sure double-play ball back to the mound, but Weaver’s wild throw home forced Angel catcher Bengie Molina to leap high for the catch. Molina scrambled back to touch the plate in time to force Jermaine Dye, but there was no play at first.

Joe Randa then lifted a popup well beyond the first base bag, and Vaughn, after a long run, made the catch up against the wall in foul territory, about 130 feet from the plate, with Erstad right behind him.

Beltran, tagging from third, broke hard for home, bluffing an attempt to score. But when Vaughn hesitated, Beltran never stopped and scored easily, giving the Royals their 12th win in their last at-bat this season.

“I didn’t want to wheel and make a bad throw if he wasn’t going,” Vaughn said. “I had trouble getting around the stands, so I tried to stop and see if he was going. By the time he tagged, I was still in a bad position to throw. Everyone in America knew the play was at home. I just didn’t want to make a bad throw.”

Though Beltran scored, it was Royal third base coach Rich Dauer who should be credited with the decision to send him.

“He said to tag up and make a hard break to the plate, and I did,” Beltran said. “When I didn’t hear him tell me to stop, I just kept going. Mo made the catch and was a little off balance. Maybe he was thinking I would stay because it was so shallow. I was thinking, if Erstad caught the ball I’d probably stay, because he has a better arm.”

Did Erstad, who was stationed between first and second on the play, consider calling off Vaughn and making the catch?

“I didn’t even see Mo,” Erstad said. “I got over there at the last second, and Mo went to catch it. I haven’t played second base much. I’ll just have to put that one in the memory banks when I become a second baseman.”

Wasted in the loss was another strong Angel comeback--Troy Glaus’ bases-loaded infield single and Molina’s two-out, two-run single in the eighth wiped out a 3-2 deficit and gave the Angels’ a 5-3 lead--and Erstad’s two-run home run in the third inning.

“But whether you come back in a game or get blasted, it makes no difference to me--it’s a loss, and it hurts,” Vaughn said. “They all stink, whatever way they happen.”

That’s the voice of a 10-year veteran, a former American League most-valuable-player-award winner who has experienced all kinds of losses and knows how to cope with them.

A few stalls down in the Angel clubhouse, Weaver, who has all of 24 big league appearances under his belt, was taking it a lot harder. Had he made a good throw home on Fabregas’ grounder to start a double play, Randa’s popup would have been the third out, and the game would have gone to the 11th inning.

“If I go out and do that nine more times, I’ll hit him in the chest nine times,” Weaver said. “I had all the time in the world and didn’t make a good throw. There’s no excuse.”