Angels Pull an Upset, 9-4

The knock on pitcher Ismael Valdes has been that he lacks guts. Angel Manager Mike Scioscia would beg to differ, and he had proof during Monday’s 9-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles before 40,880 in Camden Yards.

“He left his guts everywhere--on the mound, in the bathroom between innings,” Scioscia said of Valdes. “It was a gutsy performance.”

Valdes gave up two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings to improve to 7-5, and the Angels, in their best clutch-hitting performance of the season, scored all nine runs with two out for their 12th win in 16 games.

That Valdes even made it to the second inning was something of an upset . . . stomach. After giving up a leadoff single to Brian Roberts in the first, Valdes began to feel nauseous.

The right-hander made it out of the inning, but he went right from the mound to the clubhouse bathroom, where he vomited. He continued to feel sick, experienced stomach cramps and threw up two more times before being pulled with two out in the sixth.

“I felt bad the whole time,” Valdes said. “It was unbelievable. I’ve never felt that bad during a game. After the first batter, I thought, ‘Uh-oh, something is going on.’ But with the bullpen banged up, I wanted to go deep in the game and give them a chance to rest. I felt I could get through it.”

This was not the Ismael Valdes the Dodgers remember. During his first stint in Los Angeles from 1994-1999, Valdes was criticized by the media and teammates for supposedly lacking courage.

“I think he proved a lot of people wrong today,” said Angel first baseman Scott Spiezio, who had two hits and two runs batted in. “I know in the past he’s been criticized for not being tough, but a lot of people wouldn’t have been out there with what he had. He gutted it out.”

Angel reliever Ben Weber experienced similar symptoms Sunday while pitching two scoreless innings to gain the victory in the first game of a doubleheader against the Orioles. Like Weber, Valdes refused to give in.

“He was lucky he got out there for the second inning,” Scioscia said. “He gave us some much-needed innings under some tough conditions.”

Valdes felt a little better after the game. Perhaps the Angel offense had a medicinal effect.

Consecutive two-out RBI doubles by Garret Anderson and Spiezio in the first inning made it 2-0. Jerry Hairston’s two-run single tied the score in the bottom of the second, but the Angels strung together five consecutive hits in the third to score four runs off Oriole starter Jose Mercedes.

Darin Erstad started the rally with a two-out walk. Anderson singled, and Spiezio, Shawn Wooten and Tim Salmon followed with RBI singles. Bengie Molina laced an RBI double over left fielder Jay Gibbons’ head, but the inning ended when Salmon was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first.

The Angels loaded the bases after two were out in the sixth on singles by Molina, Adam Kennedy and David Eckstein. Troy Glaus’ fly ball into the right-field corner bounced just inside the line for a three-run double, giving the Angels a 9-2 lead.

“We’ve been taking some good at-bats, and a lot of things are contagious,” Spiezio said, though he wasn’t referring to Valdes’ malady. “When we were hitting bad, that was kind of catching. Now, you see the guy in front of you having a good at-bat, and it leads to you having a good one.

“It’s nice to have that, because we haven’t for most of the season. Five two-out hits in a row is huge, and it’s really tough on the other team. You get two outs, and bam, the bases are loaded and we score three. Hopefully, this will be the start of something.”

The Angels were hitting .237 with runners in scoring position entering the game, .212 with runners in scoring position and two out. Monday, they went eight for 13 with runners in scoring position, eight for 11 with two out.

“That was extraordinary the way we battled with two outs, not just the run-scoring hits, but the two-out rally starters,” Scioscia said. “You don’t expect to get them in bunches like that, but it’s a great indication of what we can do.”