Finally, a Walk in Park for Erstad

Darin Erstad’s walk in the fifth inning Saturday ended a string of seven consecutive games in which the Angel leadoff batter had not drawn a walk.

It was Erstad’s second walk in 14 games and fifth of the season, statistics that have contributed to Erstad’s subpar .308 on-base percentage, a marked contrast to his .409 on-base percentage in 2000.

“It’s strike one, strike two all the time,” Erstad said. “Guys are making good pitches, I’m getting behind on the count and expanding my strike zone. I’m getting pitched tough, but I need to do a better job of two-strike hitting.”

Erstad is mired in a four-for-35, nine-game slump that, not surprisingly, has coincided with the Angels’ funk. As Erstad goes, so often go the Angels, and Erstad’s average has dropped from .378 on April 12 to .250 Saturday. The Angels are batting .247.

“I’ve got to keep hacking,” said Erstad, who batted .355 with a major league-leading 240 hits last season. “When I struggled last year my bloopers fell, and that got overlooked. Now when I hit the ball hard, which isn’t too often, it’s right at someone, and my bloopers are not falling.”

*

David Eckstein knew he would play second base and shortstop in the big leagues. He never imagined he’d be a designated hitter.

But with Glenallen Hill nursing a sore rib cage and an unsightly .135 average, there was Eckstein, all 5 feet 8, 170 pounds of him, starting at DH for the Angels on Saturday.

“That’s not one of those things I’ve ever thought about, to tell you the truth,” Eckstein said of the DH role. “But I’m happy to be in the lineup any way I can get in.”

Eckstein is a bundle of energy, sprinting on and off the field between innings. He said he would spend time between at-bats hitting off a tee and doing short wind sprints in the Angels’ clubhouse.

It didn’t help. Eckstein, who batted second, went hitless in four at-bats, reaching base only in the ninth when he was hit by a pitch.

*

Angel catcher Bengie Molina seemed a little harsh in his assessment of pitcher Ramon Ortiz, whom he said “was kind of lost, not as focused,” last Tuesday night, when Ortiz gave up five runs on seven hits in six innings of a 5-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

It’s nothing personal, Molina said. He tries to treat all pitchers the same, but because Ortiz seems to lose concentration more than the other pitchers, Molina acknowledges he’s a little tougher on him.

And because Ortiz, who will start today against Seattle, has the potential to dominate like no other Angel starter, Molina gets frustrated when Ortiz underachieves.

“I’ve been with Ramon since double-A ball, so I know exactly what he needs to do and what my part in that is,” Molina said. “I have to stay on top of him all the time. If that means I have to be tougher on him, I will be.”

TODAY

ANGELS’

RAMON ORTIZ

(2-1, 3.54 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’

AARON SELE

(2-0, 3.00 ERA)

Safeco Field, 1:30 p.m.

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KMPC (1540), KMXN (94.3 FM), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Seattle’s victory Saturday improved the Mariners to 14-4, the best start in franchise history. The Mariners are 11-0 against right-handed starting pitchers, which doesn’t bode well for Ortiz. Seattle has also committed only seven errors, the fewest in the American League, and the Mariners have a league-leading .990 fielding percentage.