Angels Chilled by Their Cold Bats

For one night at least, the Angels were baseball’s version of the Steel Curtain, the Purple People Eaters, the Orange Crush, snuffing out several potential Detroit Tiger rallies with highlight-reel defensive plays. But the Angels’ No-Name Offense showed up as well and the result was a frustrating 5-1 loss to the Tigers before 20,853 in Comerica Park on Wednesday night, a defeat that prevented the Angels from gaining ground in the American League wild-card race.

Detroit snapped a 1-1 tie with four runs in the eighth off relievers Mike Holtz and Al Levine, handing the Angels, who are five games behind wild-card leader Oakland, their fourth loss in 14 games. Tiger knuckleballer Steve Sparks, a former Angel who was 1-4 with a 7.58 earned-run average in his last five starts, limited the Angels to one run and seven hits in 72/3 innings, and ex-Angel Matt Perisho threw 11/3 innings of hitless relief to gain the victory. “A lot of crucial defensive plays were made, all in situations where you have to make those plays to win close games,” said center fielder Darin Erstad, who sprinted to the warning track to rob Juan Encarnacion of extra bases in the third inning. “But the bats weren’t there at the right time.”

They were for the Tigers ... finally. Detroit rocked Angel starter Ismael Valdes for 11 hits in seven innings but had only one run to show for it, their sloppy baserunning and the Angel defense conspiring against them.

But with the score tied, 1-1, Detroit batted around in the eighth, a rally that ended with Roger Cedeno’s fifth single of the game and began with Bobby Higginson’s fourth hit, a triple that gave the Tiger left fielder six hits in six at-bats in two games against the Angels this week. “He’s so hot,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “What is he, 11 for 10?” Higginson’s triple came off Holtz, who replaced Valdes to start the eighth. Tony Clark was walked intentionally, and Randall Simon grounded to second, with Higginson holding at third and pinch-runner Ryan Jackson taking second. Scioscia summoned Levine, who walked Damion Easley intentionally to load the bases. Levine broke Deivi Cruz’s bat with an outside slider, but Cruz got enough of it to dump a two-run single to right. Shane Halter dropped a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to score Easley for a 4-1 lead, and Levine dropped the ball for an error. Encarnacion flied out to right, but Cedeno lined an RBI single to center for a 5-1 lead.

The Angel bullpen began the game with a 3.19 ERA, tied for the major-league lead with Seattle, but it has been more vulnerable of late. Holtz, who took the loss, has given up seven earned runs in his last 71/3 innings. Levine, the set-up man, has given up critical runs in three of his last five appearances. “I don’t feel like I have a crisp break on my curve,” said Holtz, who had minor back discomfort last week. “I don’t know if it’s a mechanical flaw or what, but my back is fine. I’m just in a little funk right now, especially against left-handed hitters.”

How Valdes worked through seven innings, giving up only one run, was something of a miracle when you consider innings like the seventh.

The inning opened with Garret Anderson leaping at the left-field wall to rob Halter of a home run. Encarnacion singled but was thrown out trying to steal second. Cedeno singled, and Robert Fick doubled off the wall in right. Cedeno made a wide turn around third, and was held up a little late by third base coach Lance Parrish. First baseman Scott Spiezio fielded Tim Salmon’s relay and threw to the plate, and catcher Bengie Molina nailed Cedeno at third to end the inning. Spiezio, who homered in the fourth, made two outstanding defensive plays, turning Fick’s shot to the bag into a 3-6 double play in the first and diving to his right to catch Encarnacion’s liner in the fifth.

But his aggressiveness on Clark’s sixth-inning grounder may have contributed to a Tiger run. Higginson doubled to open the inning, and Clark chopped a grounder toward the second-base hole. It was a play second baseman Adam Kennedy could have made, but Spiezio dove for the ball, which nicked off his glove and into right field, allowing Higginson to tie the score, 1-1. “Footwork around the bag is important, but that read on the grounder to the hole is the hardest play for a first baseman to make,” Scioscia said. “That takes a lot of experience.”