Angels Can’t Get Over Hill in Loss

Somewhere Tuesday, Jose Canseco probably was smirking. Not at his replacement, Glenallen Hill, whose Angel debut was inauspicious to say the least, but at the Angels, who discarded Canseco like an old newspaper last week to make Hill their designated hitter.

With the bases loaded, no outs in the top of the ninth inning and his new team trailing the Texas Rangers by a run, Hill, acquired from the New York Yankees the same day Canseco was released, had a chance to make a lasting first impression in the Angels’ season opener.

But he grounded into a third-to-home-to-first double play, thrusting a dagger into a rally that died with Bengie Molina’s first-pitch grounder back to the mound, and the Angels lost, 3-2, before a record regular-season crowd of 49,512 at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Hill wasn’t the only Angel whose failure in the clutch spoiled a day on which the Angels got enough pitching (a seven-inning, three-run performance by Scott Schoeneweis) and defense (three double plays by shortstop Benji Gil and second baseman David Eckstein) to win.

With runners on first and third and one out in the top of the eighth, Orlando Palmeiro, pinch-hitting for Gil, grounded into an inning-ending double play, leaving the Angels short by a run.

Hill’s struggles were just more glaring, because they came in the ninth inning of the first game, after the Angels loaded the bases with no outs against closer Tim Crabtree, and after Hill grounded into a double play, struck out and grounded out in his first three at-bats against starter Kenny Rogers.

“I can hit--that’s why I’m here,” Hill said. “I’m not going to beat myself up every time I don’t get a hit in a big situation. There will be lots of times when I come through. I don’t feel any added pressure because they traded for me. . . .

“I wasn’t pressing. I’ve played too long for that.”

Tim Salmon opened the ninth with a single up the middle, and Troy Glaus laced a double down the third-base line, moving Salmon to third. Crabtree, who replaced injured closer John Wetteland this season, intentionally walked Garret Anderson to load the bases.

Hill fell behind, 0 and 2, and fouled off a pitch before ripping a grounder to third baseman Ken Caminiti, who snagged it and fired to catcher Ivan Rodriguez to start the double play.

“I hit it hard, but who cares?” Hill said. “It’s not going to let me sleep any easier tonight. I would have much rather shattered my bat in 30 pieces and hit one over the shortstop’s head.”

Crabtree is a right-hander who throws a hard sinker, and Hill bats right-handed. Angel Manager Mike Scioscia had a left-handed bat on the bench in Wally Joyner but never considered going to him.

“I have a lot of confidence in Glenallen,” Scioscia said. “He had some good hacks and just missed a few pitches before grounding to third. He’s one of those guys we’re going to have to get production from. It just didn’t work out today.”

Managers sometimes walk a fine line early in the season, weighing the wisdom of certain moves against the possibility of rubbing key players the wrong way.

“But I’ve talked to Glenallen about his role, and it wouldn’t have hurt his psyche to be pinch-hit for,” Scioscia said. “He’s an offensive force, and he had some good cuts up there. A high percentage of the time, he’s going to get that run in or break the game open.”

Scioscia also could have replaced Molina with Joyner in the ninth to force Ranger Manager Johnny Oates’ hand--either pitch to Joyner or walk him to load the bases for Scott Spiezio. Scioscia stuck with Molina, who hit .263 with runners in scoring position last season.

“Bengie is one of our top clutch hitters,” Scioscia said.

Molina seemed a bit eager and swung at the first pitch, grounding back to Crabtree for an easy out. In his previous at-bat, Molina doubled to open the eighth and took third on Eckstein’s one-out single to left. Darin Erstad, who had two doubles and a run batted in in his first three at-bats, singled to center to score Molina and pull the Angels to within 3-2.

Oates replaced Rogers with right-hander Jeff Zimmerman, and Scioscia opted for the left-handed Palmeiro--instead of Joyner--to hit for Gil. Scioscia has been known to squeeze in those situations, but he let Palmeiro swing away. The result: a double-play grounder to second.

“O.P. has been good off the bench, and he makes good contact,” Scioscia said. “A lot of good things could have happened there. That ball could have found a hole. He just rolled over one and hit into a double play.”

The double play also was on Schoeneweis’ buddy list Tuesday. After consecutive doubles by Rodriguez and Andres Galarraga scored a run in the second, the Rangers loaded the bases with no outs.

But Ruben Mateo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play for a run and a 2-0 lead, and Rusty Greer grounded out. Gil and Eckstein helped bail Schoeneweis out of a first-and-third, one-out jam when they turned a double play on Rodriguez’s grounder in the third, and Eckstein started a double play to end the fourth.

Spiezio and Erstad doubled in the third for an Angel run, making the score 2-1, but Rogers retired 14 in a row from the third through the seventh, and Greer’s sacrifice fly in the seventh made the score 3-1.

Schoeneweis was up to the task, though, giving up eight hits and striking out five, including four in a row in the fifth and sixth. He struck out Alex Rodriguez twice in the $252-million shortstop’s home debut.

“It sounds like a cliche, but I pitched deep into the game and gave the team a chance to win--that’s what I’m programmed to do,” Schoeneweis said. “That’s a tough lineup the Rangers have--there are no breaks. If the ball bounces a different way here or there, we come out with a victory.”