Angels Revived by Altitude Adjustment

Troy Glaus was invited to participate in tonight’s Home Run Derby, part of the All-Star game festivities in Seattle’s Safeco Field. The Angels provided a nice warm-up act for their third baseman Sunday.

In a rare display of power for a team that has lacked punch all season, the Angels bashed five home runs en route to an 11-3 victory over Colorado before 37,577 in Coors Field, completing their second three-game sweep of the Rockies in two years.

Garret Anderson opened the slugfest with a grand slam in the first inning, and Darin Erstad and Scott Spiezio each hit two home runs, including a three-run shot by Erstad and a two-run shot by Spiezio in the second, as the Angels opened a 9-3 lead.

The Angels, who were shut out three times last week, closed the first half with a four-game win streak, including a three-day offensive outburst in which they had 27 runs and 41 hits, including 11 home runs, in Coors Field. The Angels had 11 home runs in their previous 16 games before coming to Denver.

“It was great, it was tremendous,” said Glaus, who was selected as an all-star reserve for the second straight season. “I would have liked to have joined it myself, but that’s the way it goes.

“This is probably the best home run park in baseball, but there aren’t too many cheapies here because the fences are so far away. You still have to hit it hard.”

The Angels, who are 21 games behind Seattle in the American League West and nine games behind Boston in the wild-card race, shattered their franchise record with 236 home runs last season.

But they had only 78 home runs entering this series, with Glaus (22) and Anderson (now 15) the only players in double figures. The loss of Mo Vaughn (36 homers in 2000) and Tim Salmon’s struggles put a major dent in the Angel attack.

The combination of some shaky Colorado pitching and the thin air of Coors Field helped the Angels snap out of their funk before the All-Star break, which, it seems, could not have come at a worse time.

“Maybe you’d want to keep playing because of the way we’re hitting, but this gives us a positive feeling going into the break,” Erstad said. “I think the momentum will carry over.”

Erstad had only five homers before blasting two shots to right field Sunday. Spiezio, who has seen limited playing time, had only two homers before ripping two shots to right Sunday.

All of the Angel runs--including the five homers--were charged to rookie right-hander Shawn Chacon, who was forced to bear the brunt of the assault because the Colorado bullpen was spent, having thrown eight innings behind injured starter Denny Neagle on Saturday night.

“Maybe the park helped,” Spiezio said, “but most of the balls we hit, with the exception of one or two, would have gone out anywhere.”

All 11 Angel runs came on homers, “but we also had to set the table,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We got a lot of base hits in between the homers, which helped. We’re more than a home run-hitting ballclub.”

Indeed, the Angels are a pitching-dominated team. Right-hander Pat Rapp (3-9) gave up three runs and five hits in six innings Sunday, and Angel starters combined to go 3-0 with a 3.86 earned-run average in the series.

“We had a great offensive series, but what’s overshadowed is the fact we got great pitching in a tough park to pitch in, against a good lineup at high altitude,” Scioscia said. “The pitchers have gotten the job done all year, and that’s impressive.”

Rapp wasn’t sure what to do with all the support. The Angels scored 19 runs in his nine losses, but he had a four-run lead before stepping onto the mound Sunday.

Rapp almost handed it all right back, as Todd Walker ripped a three-run homer to center to pull the Rockies to within 4-3. But Rapp recovered to blank Colorado on two hits over the next five innings, and Lou Pote added three hitless innings for his first save.

“That was pretty strange having such a big early lead,” Rapp said. “And what do you know? We score four, and I go and give up three. . . . But our guys were just pounding them out. I just wanted to keep the ball down enough to keep the ball in the park.”