Frustrated Angels Go Quietly

A change of scenery was out of the question. This was only the second game of a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners and there was no escaping Safeco Field.

Superstitious as baseball players are, the slumping Angels tried the next-best thing, a change of wardrobe, opting for their dark-blue jerseys Friday night instead of their traditional road grays.

Clothes did not make the men.

The new-look Angels looked like the ragged bunch that has needed a tow truck to haul it around the basepaths for the last week, failing to mount much of an offense in a 4-1 loss to the Mariners before a crowd of 38,518.

The Angels, who had only six hits, wasted right-hander Pat Rapp’s first complete game in three years and suffered their sixth loss in seven games to fall six games behind Seattle in the American League West.

The Angels have scored only 20 runs on 49 hits in the last eight games, an average of 2.5 runs and 6.1 hits. Their pitching staff, meanwhile, has a 3.89 earned-run average, fourth-best in the league.

“We’ll take the silver lining out of this cloud, which was a great performance by Pat Rapp, but I sound like a broken record now,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“The whole lineup is frustrated. We have enough confidence in these guys to show patience. It’s not fun to watch, but we know this group can score runs. They’re going to break out of this.”

The numbers aren’t pretty: Darin Erstad’s average has dropped from .375 to .265 in the past week. Tim Salmon is batting .190. Troy Glaus is batting .219 and hasn’t driven in a run in five games. Glenallen Hill is batting .135.

“They’re frustrated and that can make you more aggressive than you want to be sometimes,” said Mickey Hatcher, the Angel batting instructor. “They’ve got to get back to their game plans.”

Seattle left-hander John Halama (2-1) wouldn’t let them Friday night, shaking off a rocky one-run first inning to blank the Angels through the seventh. Relievers Jeff Nelson and Kazuhiro Sasaki (ninth save) retired the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings.

“I don’t think guys are having a lot of problems with their swings,” Hatcher said. “I go over films, and these [opposing pitchers] are not making any mistakes. I’m not trying to cover for our hitters, but we’ve had some good games pitched against us, and that will take a toll.”

The Angels had to be encouraged when Erstad led off with a double to right, Salmon walked and Garret Anderson hit a run-scoring double off the end of his bat down the third-base line for a 1-0 lead.

That snapped Erstad’s seven-game scoreless streak and marked only the fourth time in 17 games the Angels have scored first. But Bengie Molina grounded to short with runners on second and third to end the inning and Halama gave up only four singles over the next six innings.

The Mariners erased the Angel lead in the bottom of the first when Ichiro Suzuki led off with a double to right. Suzuki took third on Stan Javier’s grounder and scored on Edgar Martinez’s grounder to make 1-1.

Seattle went ahead with two runs in the fourth, a rally that started with back-to-back singles by Martinez and John Olerud. Bret Boone reached on a fielder’s choice, Martinez taking third.

Al Martin followed with a chopper toward the hole at second. Adam Kennedy’s only play was to first, so Martinez scored for a 2-1 lead and Boone took second. Tom Lampkin then lined a run-scoring single to left to make it 3-1.

Stan Javier homered with two outs in the eighth, but that didn’t prevent Rapp from his first complete game since May 13, 1998, when he shut out Tampa Bay. Rapp (0-3) went eight innings, giving up six hits, walking one and striking out none.

Pitching is the least of Scioscia’s concerns. The Angels need to score more runs, though Scioscia isn’t sure he can spark the offense by shaking up the lineup.

“Short of giving guys a day off, these are the guys who are going to have to carry us,” Scioscia said. “It’s not where guys are hitting in the lineup that is causing this.

“The guys who are supposed to be getting on base aren’t getting on base, and the guys who are supposed to be driving guys in aren’t. It’s like a domino effect, and all the dominoes are falling in the wrong direction.”