Washburn Leaves No Doubt for Angels

Not once in the eight innings he pitched Sunday did Jarrod Washburn have to look a runner back to second base or check a runner at third. That’s how dominant the Angel left-hander was against the American League’s best hitting team.

Washburn lost his shutout when Kenny Lofton homered to lead off the ninth, but that was the only blemish on the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians before 42,510 in Jacobs Field.

Washburn gave up four hits in eight innings, struck out seven and walked none before yielding to closer Troy Percival, who pitched a scoreless ninth for his 35th save.

Scott Spiezio hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning, his 10th of the year, and Troy Glaus added a two-run homer in the sixth, his 33rd of the season, to pace the Angels, who have won 13 of 18 games and are 28-13 since July 5. Oakland’s victory over Chicago Sunday prevented the Angels from cutting into a six-game wild-card deficit.

Not one Cleveland runner reached second base before Lofton’s home run in the ninth. Washburn, who kept the Indians off balance with his lively fastball, changeup and slider, induced 15 fly-ball outs, including four infield popups.

Cleveland’s three through six hitters, Roberto Alomar, Juan Gonzalez, Ellis Burks and Jim Thome, went a combined one for 15, and Thome, who has 22 home runs and 58 runs batted in in his last 45 games, struck out three times.

“That’s about as good an offensive lineup as you’re going to see, and he really went after them,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He doesn’t get rattled, and he makes good pitches. That’s a recipe for success, and it’s going to make him one of the premier pitchers in the league.”

Some think he already is. Washburn, who improved to 11-6, has given up three earned runs or fewer in 17 of his 23 starts this season, including 14 of his last 15 outings.

Seattle designated hitter Edgar Martinez called Washburn one of the league’s best left-handers earlier this season, and there were similar sentiments in Cleveland’s clubhouse Sunday.

“Am I surprised? No, he’s one of the better left-handers we’ve faced this year,” Thome said. “I rank him right there with [Minnesota’s] Eric Milton and [Oakland’s] Barry Zito. He has no fear, even though we hit a few balls hard. And it’s not like he throws a lot of pitches over the middle.”

Washburn’s performance completed an impressive series for Angel pitchers, who limited Cleveland to a .187 average (17 for 91), two homers and seven runs in three games.

Ramon Ortiz threw a complete-game six-hitter in Friday night’s 7-2 Angel victory, and Pat Rapp gave up four runs in 6 1/3 innings of Saturday’s 4-2 Angel loss.

All three starters have different styles--Ortiz is a hard-throwing right-hander who mixes a slider and changeup with his fastball, the right-handed Rapp relies on the movement of his cut fastball, and Washburn is a left-hander whose fastball dips and darts in several directions.

The common denominator is catcher Bengie Molina.

Bench coach Joe Maddon had some fun with the lineup card in the Angel clubhouse Sunday, using nicknames and Spanish phrases instead of regular names, and catching and batting eighth was “El Cerebro,” which is Spanish for “The Brain.”

Scioscia had another moniker for Molina after the game: MVP.

“Bengie may have been the most valuable player of this series,” Scioscia said. “He executed three totally different game plans, handled three pitchers with totally different stuff and held a team like that to seven runs.

“I know he’s disappointed the hits are not falling, but the job he and [reserve catchers] Jorge Fabregas and Shawn Wooten have done behind the plate is the reason we’re even talking about the playoffs right now.”

Molina is batting .241 with three homers and 25 RBIs this season, but his contributions have not been overlooked in the Angel clubhouse.

“Guys might look at his offensive numbers and think he doesn’t do much, but he calls a great game,” Washburn said. “He’s real easy to talk to, and there’s not a lot of shaking [signs] off, because you’re always on the same page. He takes pride in knowing every pitcher. It’s great to have a guy like that behind the plate.”