Angels Finally Solve Left-Hander Problem

Randy Johnson can be intimidating and overpowering, but when it comes to left-handers, nothing seems to confound the Angels like a guy with as many soft-serve offerings as Dairy Queen.

Light-throwing lefties have given the Angels fits this season, and Texas Ranger starter Kenny Rogers, who had a 13-8 career record and 3.53 earned-run average against the Angels, including a perfect game in 1994, figured to be a handful Monday night.

But the Angels dropped an offensive blizzard on their long-time nemesis, pounding Rogers for eight runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings of an 11-7 victory over the Rangers before 17,076 in Edison Field.

Adam Kennedy had three hits and scored twice, and Garret Anderson had two hits and three runs batted in to key the Angels’ 16-hit attack. Scott Spiezio and Shawn Wooten each had two hits and two RBIs, and Troy Glaus homered and scored three runs, as the Angels won for the sixth time in nine games.

Angel right-hander Ramon Ortiz (6-5) gave up five runs on eight hits in seven innings, but he still improved to 4-0 this season and 5-0 lifetime against the Rangers.

“That’s a great break-out game against a guy who has been tough against us,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Hopefully this is a good sign, that a good game plan [against lefties] that we’ve had trouble executing has finally come together.”

The Angels had won only five of 14 games against soft-throwing, left-handed starters, who had a 3.69 ERA against the Angels before Monday night. Seattle lefty Jamie Moyer, who has a great changeup, limited the Angels to two runs on two hits in eight innings of a game the Angels somehow won, 2-1, Saturday.

Perhaps seeing their third crafty lefty in six days--Rogers pitched against the Angels last Wednesday in Texas--helped the Angels, because they seemed more selective Monday night, showing more patience by drawing four walks off Rogers and working themselves into better hitting counts.

“There’s no secret to hitting these guys,” Wooten said. “They try to keep you off balance. You can see where they start a certain pitch and you know where it dives out of the zone. You want to make them get the ball up so when it dives it ends up over the plate.”

Sometimes, that’s easier said than done.

“You have to think with Rogers because he’s a pitcher,” Scioscia said. “He knows the strike zone, knows how to change speeds, how to use his hook. You have to go the other way against him, and you have to get the ball in a zone you like to hit in. He nibbled, he tried to pitch his game, but when we got pitches, we hit them.”

Glaus, hitless in his previous 16 at-bats, snapped a 1-1 tie in the third with his 19th home run of the season and 15th career homer against Texas, eight more than he has against any other opponent. The Angels added another run in the third on Wooten’s RBI single.

Then they blew the game open with a five-run fourth. Kennedy started the rally with an opposte-field single to left, and Darin Erstad doubled to left-center, a drive on which center fielder Gabe Kapler almost made a diving catch.

After Glaus was walked intentionally to load the bases, Anderson ripped a one-hot smash that Rafael Palmeiro couldn’t glove at first. The ball rolled to the outfield for a two-run single, and Glaus took third on right fielder Ricky Ledee’s fielding error.

Tim Salmon singled to left for a run, knocking Rogers out of the game. Anderson scored on Spiezio’s grounder to second, and Wooten capped the rally with an RBI single to center off reliever Tim Crabtree, giving the Angels what seemed like a commanding 8-1 lead.

Texas pulled to within 8-4 with three runs in the top of the fifth, but the Angels countered with three in the bottom of the fifth, an inning that included Anderson’s sacrifice fly and Spiezio’s RBI double, to make it 11-4.

But Alex Rodriguez homered in the seventh, Palmeiro and Ruben Sierra each homered off reliever Lou Pote in the ninth, and Kapler reached on Glaus’ throwing error before Scioscia summoned lefty Mike Holtz, who struck out David Lamb to end the game.

“We were limping at the finish,” Scioscia said. “All of a sudden the tying run is rattling around in the dugout, and [closer Troy Percival] almost snuck into the game. But we hung on.”