Angels’ Season Takes Yet Another Twist

The thrill of victory quickly turned into the agony of the feet for Angel pitcher Ramon Ortiz, who turned his right ankle while covering first base in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays and had to be carried off the SkyDome field.

Ortiz had pitched brilliantly, limiting a potent Blue Jay lineup to one run and five hits in 7 1/3 innings to lead the Angels to a 4-1 victory before a crowd of 19,261.

But as he caught Scott Spiezio’s throw on Shannon Stewart’s grounder to the first-base hole and extended his right leg to tag the base, Ortiz rolled his ankle and crumpled to the ground, wincing in pain and pounding the turf with his fist.

Angel trainer Ned Bergert and first base coach Alfredo Griffin carried Ortiz to the clubhouse, where the ankle swelled immediately. The right-hander was transported to a local hospital for X-rays, which were negative.

Alan Gross, the Blue Jays’ orthopedist, diagnosed Ortiz with a mild sprain and his status is listed as day to day. There’s a chance Ortiz could miss a start or two, but that is dependent on how he responds to treatment over the next few days. Matt Wise or Steve Green would likely be recalled from triple-A Salt Lake if Ortiz goes on the disabled list.

“It’s sad to see a guy like that go down now, when we need him the most,” Angel catcher Bengie Molina said. “I knew when he turned it that he was hurt, because I’ve done that a few times. I didn’t want to watch.”

Until then, Ortiz was a picture of efficiency, throwing 92 pitches, 61 of them strikes. After shoddy losses to Oakland and Seattle, in which Ortiz was rocked for nine earned runs and 17 hits in 11 innings, Ortiz rebounded well Saturday, giving up five singles, striking out three and walking one.

“We saw much better command early in the count, a lot of first-pitch strikes, he challenged hitters and changed speeds well,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “That was no walk in the park out there. He had some tough situations, but he kept his composure. That’s a great sign.”

Ortiz had a lengthy closed-door meeting Wednesday with Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black, who stressed the importance of not overthrowing in tense situations, of not being fazed when he gives up hits or his teammates make mistakes. The message apparently got through.

The Angels committed three errors Saturday, two by shortstop Benji Gil, who threw low to first on Jeff Frye’s third-inning grounder and booted Stewart’s potential double-play grounder in the fifth.

But Ortiz did not lose his poise. Neither did third baseman Troy Glaus. Ortiz got Raul Mondesi to ground into a 5-4-3 double play with runners on first and third to end the third, and Glaus made a superb stop of Alex Gonzalez’s smash to the hole to start an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

“Ramon is showing a lot more maturity now than he did last year,” Gil said. “After my errors, he looked at me and said, ‘You’re all right. Let’s turn a double play.’ That’s what you want in your pitchers. When you mess up, the last thing you want to see is a pitcher making gestures.”

Ortiz gave up his only run in the first when Stewart singled, took second on a groundout and scored on Carlos Delgado’s single to right.

The Angels scored three runs in the fourth, a rally that began with Spiezio’s double and ended with Shawn Wooten’s bases-loaded walk by Toronto starter Chris Michalak and Gil’s bloop two-run double to right.

Spiezio knocked in the Angels’ fourth run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, which followed Adam Kennedy’s walk and David Eckstein’s hit-and-run single.

After escaping the third-inning jam, Ortiz allowed only one runner to reach second base. He wasn’t overpowering, but he was in control, mixing his pitches and throwing with confidence.

“I look for that with Ortiz every time out, just like you expect that from guys like Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson,” said Angel closer Troy Percival, who threw a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. “I know I shouldn’t put that kind of pressure on Ramon, but that’s how good he is.”