Dodgers at a Loss

By PAUL GUTIERREZ

June 11, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Usually when he tells a story, Jim Tracy makes a few pit stops before finding his way to the moral.

After Sunday’s 6-5, 10-inning interleague loss to the Angels, the Dodger manager was succinct.

“We didn’t deserve to win today,” a morose Tracy said. “We just made too many miscues. We hurt ourselves defensively and we hurt ourselves a couple of times with the inability to get a bunt down.

“We allowed them to win today because of the miscues that we made.”

The Dodgers committed three errors, popped up two bunts and had a runner picked off second base during one of the botched bunts.

“The frustrating part,” Tracy said, “is the fact that we created the opportunities for them to win the baseball game.”

Garret Anderson took advantage in front of a Dodger Stadium crowd of 45,260.

For the second time in three games, the Angel outfielder hit a game-winning home run. Friday night his second-inning shot was the difference in a 1-0 Angel win. Anderson’s 10th-inning blast Sunday with one out on a first-pitch changeup from Eric Gagne eluded a leaping Shawn Green at the right-field fence.

The usually stone-faced Anderson wore an ear-to-ear grin while rounding the bases.

“It was just nice to do something to help the team out,” he said of his ninth homer of the season. “I haven’t been doing my job with the consistency I’m used to. It was a nice feeling, not just because it was the Dodgers, but just to win the game, period.”

Angel reliever Al Levine (3-4) picked up the victory, Troy Percival pitched a perfect 10th inning for his 16th save and Gagne (1-4) suffered the loss.

Anderson’s heroics were made possible an inning earlier when Dodger closer Jeff Shaw, holding a one-run lead, was victimized by the team’s third error.

Left-handed pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro started the inning with a hard grounder up the middle that shortstop Jeff Reboulet bobbled before he spun and threw the ball away, allowing Palmeiro to advance to second.

He went to third on Adam Kennedy’s groundout to second before Jorge Fabregas’ soft liner up the middle eluded a drawn-in Dodger infield, allowing Palmeiro to score.

“We made some mistakes and I know I made a big one in the ninth there and you can’t make mistakes like that late in the game,” Reboulet said. “I can live with the ground ball coming up. I don’t think there’s much I could have done about that, but obviously I made a bad decision in trying to make something out of nothing and made the situation worse.”

The comedy of errors sullied a strong six-inning outing by Dodger starter Terry Adams, who made his second career start.

Adams, a reliever since May 1994 when he was with the Chicago Cubs’ Class-A affiliate, struck out a career-high nine and did not walk a batter.

Adams shut down the heart of the Angel lineup with Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon and Anderson going a combined one for nine against him with seven strikeouts.

The irony was not lost on the former middle reliever, whose bullpen blew his lead.

“I’ve been in that position where I’ve come in from the bullpen, the starter’s had the lead, pitched real good, and given up a few runs and lost the game,” said Adams, who gave up two runs, one earned, and five hits.

“I mean, the main goal is just to win the game, no matter who gets the ‘W’ beside their name,” he said. “I just want to go out there and keep our team in the ballgame and give us the opportunity to win, which I did.”

The Angels’ first run came when Darin Erstad scored on a first-inning error by first baseman Paul Lo Duca.

Gary Sheffield ended his 0-for-7 funk with a two-run home run to left field in the first off left-handed Angel starter Jarrod Washburn. Sheffield crushed an 0-and-1 pitch, sending the ball careening off the back wall of the Dodger bullpen. Sheffield’s 12th homer, his first since May 12, scored Green.

After Adrian Beltre gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead in the fourth with a two-run double off the top of the center-field wall, Erstad tied it again with a two-out, two-run seventh-inning homer off Gregg Olson.

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia managed Sunday’s game as if he were running a National League team, making a pair of double switches and numerous substitutions.

Scioscia’s team has won eight of 10, and he gave credit to his team for winning the rubber game of the Freeway Series, as opposed to the Dodgers giving it up.

“They left their hearts out on the field,” Scioscia said of the Angels. “There’s no quit in these guys.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

DODGERS VS. ANGELS

Record since interleague play was implemented in 1997:

Dodgers lead 12-11

IN INTERLEAGUE

Dodgers vs. American League 32-30

Angels vs. National League 34-37

IN 2001

American League 23-19

Overall NL, 496-487