Howe’s Move Leaves Void in A’s Lineup

Mark Bellhorn grounded to second in the 10th inning for the A’s Thursday. Ryan Christenson struck out in the 12th, and Mike Stanley struck out in the 14th to end the game. Three random outs in the A’s 6-3 loss to the Angels Thursday? Not quite.

The three outs were linked in that they all came from the No. 3 hole in Oakland’s lineup, which until the eighth inning was occupied by most valuable player candidate Jason Giambi, who is hitting .330 with 41 homers and 133 runs batted in.

But Oakland Manager Art Howe lifted Giambi for a pinch-runner in the eighth, and while that strategy worked in the short run--Bo Porter scored the tying run--it backfired in the long run, as the A’s missed out on three Giambi plate appearances in their 14-inning loss.

“He’s our best hitter, but we had a chance to tie the game in the eighth, and we did,” Howe said, refusing to second-guess his decision. “We were trying to make things happen, and we got a run out of it. The other guys have to get the job done.”

Giambi, who had led off the eighth with a walk, said it was “tough to watch” the rest of the game, but he backed his manager’s move.

“That was a big run there--we needed to score in the eighth to get to the ninth,” Giambi said. “In that situation, it turned out great because we tied the game. We just couldn’t push another run across.”

*

Angel left-hander Scott Karl, who had been lobbying for a start for several weeks, finally got one Thursday, and he may have boosted his chances of returning in 2001 by allowing only two unearned runs on three hits in five innings.

Karl, acquired in an Aug. 22 trade with the Rockies, was demoted to the bullpen in early September after going 0-2 with a 9.53 earned run average in three starts. Though he walked three Thursday, he steered clear of trouble until the fifth.

“Today was a big part of what I’m capable of doing,” Karl said. “That was the aggression and the confidence that have been fleeting all season. I wish I had another 10 or 12 games to show them, but hopefully this was something they liked, because I’d love to come back here.”

*

Scott Spiezio made a rare start in left field for the Angels, and he turned out to be a nice addition to the lineup--Spiezio, who was let go by the A’s after last season, hit two home runs to give the Angels a 3-0 lead before being lifted for defensive purposes in the seventh.

“The fans were all over me in left field,” Spiezio said. “They were calling me a trader, like I was the one who left. Well, it was the A’s who let me go.”

*

Angel outfielder Darin Erstad had two hits Thursday, giving him a major league-leading 236 hits on the season, the most since Don Mattingly had 238 hits in 1986. . . . Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn went 1 for 19 with nine strikeouts in four games against the A’s this week and has only four hits in his last 33 at-bats.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Seattle Mariners, three games.

* Site--Edison Field.

* Tonight--7 p.m.

* TV--Channel 11 Saturday.

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

* Records--Angels 81-78, Mariners 89-70.

* Record vs. Mariners--4-6.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ RAMON ORTIZ

(7-6, 5.30 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’ PAUL ABBOTT

(9-6, 3.93)

* Update--The Angels assured themselves of going .500 this season with Thursday’s victory over the A’s, and now they could determine who wins the West with a three-game series against the Mariners, with whom they have had a heated rivalry over the past six years. Seattle came from 13 games back in early August to forge a tie with the Angels and then beat them in a one-game playoff to determine the division champion in 1995. The teams also had a bench-clearing brawl in a game last April.

* Saturday, 1 p.m.--Tim Belcher (4-4, 6.39) vs. John Halama (13-9, 5.14).

* Sunday, 1 p.m.--Scott Schoeneweis (7-10, 5.45) vs. Aaron Sele (17-10, 4.54).

* Tickets: (714) 663-9000.