Angels Win a Physical Game, 6-4

The Angels and Oakland Athletics went to a baseball game Thursday night, and a football game broke out. This was full-contact all the way, with seven pitches hitting batters, two batted balls hitting a pitcher and two outfielders crashing violently into walls.

When the final whistle had blown, the Angels emerged with a 6-4 victory before 15,859 in Edison Field, a win that included a club-record five hit batsmen by the Angels and another highlight-reel play by the fearless Darin Erstad, the former Nebraska football player.

With runners on first and second, no outs in the eighth inning and the Angels leading, 6-3, Oakland’s Miguel Tejada sent a long fly ball over Erstad’s head in center.

Erstad raced back, timed his leap perfectly and made the catch just before smashing into the wall, saving one--and probably two--runs and preventing a possible big inning.

“If you’re going to hit a long fly ball somewhere, that’s the place to do it, because the guy we have out there is phenomenal,” said Angel pitcher Scott Schoeneweis, who gave up four runs on six hits and hit four batters in 7 1/3 innings to improve to 6-3.

“He’s done that about a dozen times. He really bailed me out. . . . He won a Gold Glove last year, and I’m sure it will be the first of many.”

Erstad’s catch--along with Troy Percival’s 1 1/3-inning save--helped preserve a come-from-behind victory the Angels forged with a lengthy five-run rally in the sixth, a half-inning that took about 30 minutes.

Oakland starter Barry Zito was virtually unhittable through five innings, retiring 14 straight after the Angels loaded the bases with one out in the first, but the Angels couldn’t miss him--literally--in the sixth.

Trailing, 3-0, David Eckstein opened the inning with a liner right at Zito’s face. Zito got his glove up just in time to deflect the ball and prevent a major disaster, but Eckstein reached on the single.

Erstad followed with a fly ball into the left-field corner, where A’s outfielder Eric Byrnes, after a long run, made the catch in foul territory. But Byrnes’ momentum took him into the wall, and the ball squirted out of his glove and into the crowd upon impact.

Third-base umpire Doug Eddings ruled that a fan interfered with Byrnes and called Erstad out, a decision Angel Manager Mike Scioscia disputed. After huddling with the rest of the umpires, crew chief Brian Gorman ruled that Eckstein could not tag up and advance to second on the play.

Scioscia protested the game, citing a difference in the interpretation of baseball’s interference rule, but dropped the protest afterward. Meanwhile, A’s Manager Art Howe stewed.

“It was a little ridiculous the amount of time they gave him to argue the call,” Howe said. “If you’re going to protest, do it, and let’s get on with the game.”

The delay didn’t help Zito, who walked Troy Glaus and hit Tim Salmon with a pitch to load the bases. Garret Anderson then ripped a liner off Zito’s chest for a single, trimming the lead to 3-1 and knocking Zito out of the game.

Pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro greeted reliever Chad Bradford with a two-run, game-tying single to shallow right-center. Shawn Wooten singled to center to load the bases, and Howe summoned left-hander Mike Magnante.

Scott Spiezio sent a grounder to the shortstop hole, but Miguel Tejada, who had made several Gold Glove-caliber plays in the series, stumbled as he reached for the ball, which skidded off his glove and into left field for an error that allowed the Angels to score two runs and take a 5-3 lead. Glaus’ homer off Magnante in the seventh made it 6-3.

The A’s scored single runs in each of the first three innings, as Frank Menechino homered in the first, Johnny Damon singled in a run in the second and Eric Chavez hit an RBI fielder’s choice in the third.

Schoeneweis retired 13 straight from the third through seventh innings before hitting Menechino to start the eighth, his fourth hit batsman, tying a major league record set 23 times.

Jason Giambi singled, and after Erstad’s catch, the A’s scored on Saenz’s sacrifice fly to pull to within 6-4 before Percival slammed the door, retiring Terrence Long on a fly to center with runners on first and third to end the eighth and retiring the side in order in the ninth.