Angels Can’t Close Gap Despite 21-Hit Outburst

It seemed the flow of hits would never end Friday night for the Angels, who broke out of a six-game offensive funk with a 16-5 pounding of the Minnesota Twins before 10,129 in the Metrodome. But the flow of sand in the hourglass that is the Angel season is thinning rapidly.

The Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians won Friday night, keeping the Angels six games back in the American League West and five games back in the wild-card race, a fact that tempered their 21-hit dismantling of the Twins.

The Angels have rarely veered from their one-game-at-a-time philosophy, ignoring the big picture and focusing on the task at hand, but the big picture has become much smaller, the season reduced to another two weeks and a day, and that has forced the Angels to think in broader terms.

“We know we have to win 10-12 of our remaining games to have a chance, but that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t win 12 in a row if you don’t win the first one,” left fielder Darin Erstad said.

“We understand the situation. If we get solid pitching and our bats come alive, there’s no reason we can’t rip off 12 wins in a row.”

The Angels have not won more than four consecutive games all season, though, and it may take a string of offensive outbursts like Friday’s to make a serious playoff run.

Right fielder Tim Salmon came out of a 1-for-21 slump with three hits and tied his career high with his 34th homer, a two-run shot in the first, an inning in which Minnesota starter Matt Kinney did not record an out until his 25th pitch.

Bengie Molina had three hits and four runs batted in, Garret Anderson had three hits and three RBIs, giving him 100 RBIs on the season, and Erstad, Scott Spiezio, Mo Vaughn, Troy Glaus and Shawn Wooten each had two hits.

The core of an Angel lineup--Erstad, Vaughn, Salmon, Anderson, Glaus--that combined to hit .211 (19 for 90) with seven RBIs on the recent six-game homestand went 12 for 25 with eight RBIs Friday night.

That provided reliever-turned-starter Al Levine, who gave up two runs on three hits in four innings, and five Angel relievers plenty of support. It also offset the Angels’ four errors, which gave them seven errors in their last two games.

“Sixteen runs will erase a lot of mistakes--we have to play tighter defense to give ourselves a chance,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “But it’s nice to see the core of our lineup come out of a little downcycle. They woke up at a good time.”

Except for Vaughn, the first baseman who is still waiting for his 2000 alarm to go off. Vaughn is batting .281 with 34 home runs and a team-leading 109 RBIs, a solid season by most standards but subpar for him.

Though he had two hits Friday, both were bloop singles. He is mired in an 8-for-48 slump since Sept. 2 and has not homered since Sept. 1. He feels he should be doing more during this crucial point of the season.

Vaughn is a career .301 hitter but has struck out a career-high 163 times, setting a franchise record and ranking second in the major leagues behind Florida’s Preston Wilson. A career .299 hitter against left-handers, Vaughn is batting .207 against them this season.

“It’s one of those things I’ve been fighting all season,” Vaughn said. “If you look directly at my numbers, you can’t tell, but I can tell. People will accept certain things, but in my heart and mind, I don’t think my numbers are that good.”

Vaughn hit .300 with 39 homers and 126 RBIs when he won the AL most valuable player in 1995. He hit .326 with 44 homers and 143 RBIs in 1996 and .337 with 40 homers and 115 RBIs in 1998.

He knows what he is capable of, and knows more is expected of a player with a six-year, $80-million contract, but he’s had trouble getting comfortable in the batter’s box.

“He set some standards that are difficult to reach,” Scioscia said. “He has a passion for the game, and he takes it hard when he’s not at a level he’s supposed to be. Mo has done his job. His only dry spells come when he’s trying to overachieve.”

That’s something Vaughn won’t quit doing.

“The main thing is to keep fighting it, don’t give in to it,” Vaughn said. “It will click.”