Worst-Case Scenario Realized

Scott Schoeneweis passed Ken Hill and several others in the Angel record book Wednesday, and if you recall anything of Hill’s disappointment- filled, injury-plagued three years in Anaheim, this was not the most esteemed crowd to leave behind.

Schoeneweis, the young left-hander who has been the Angels’ most consistent and effective starter this season, suffered the worst outing in franchise history, giving up 11 earned runs and 12 hits in four-plus innings of the Angels’ 12-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles before 31,249 in Camden Yards.

Several Angel pitchers have been bombed for 10 runs in a game, the last being Hill against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 19, 2000. But no Angel pitcher in 41 years had given up 11 runs in a game . . . until Wednesday.

“At least I’ll be in the record books for something,” smirked Schoeneweis, who gave up only 10 earned runs in 29 1/3 innings of his last five starts. “It’s just amazing because I felt I was throwing the ball well and things were going so good [this season].

“I don’t think I was overconfident. . . . I guess I’ve got to come back to earth. This makes you realize you’re a small part of this world, you’re human, and things like this happen.”

Had this happened last season, Schoeneweis’ first as a full-time major league starter, he probably would have cursed himself repeatedly in private and berated himself in front of reporters. No one took losses harder.

But perhaps it is a sign of his maturity that Schoeneweis (3-3) let the unprecedented drubbing roll off his back like so many of the hits that rolled off Oriole bats Wednesday.

“When you’re this bad, what can you do?” said Schoeneweis, whose earned-run average went from 3.04 to 4.48. “It’s so disappointing, you don’t have the energy to get real upset about it.”

In the first inning the Orioles tagged Schoeneweis for five runs and seven hits, including David Segui’s two-run double, and Baltimore added three more runs in the second, which featured RBI doubles by Segui and Melvin Mora. Had Schoeneweis been on the golf course, he would have gladly taken a mulligan.

Schoeneweis finally found some rhythm and blanked the Orioles in the third and fourth innings, and the Angels mounted a comeback with two runs in each of the third and fourth innings to make it 8-4. Troy Glaus doubled in runs in the third and fourth and added his 11th homer of the season in the sixth.

But the Angels couldn’t cash in on Garret Anderson’s leadoff double in the fifth, as Oriole rookie right-hander Willis Roberts struck out Tim Salmon--whose average fell to .200 with Wednesday’s 0 for 4--Jorge Fabregas and Orlando Palmeiro to snuff the rally.

Baltimore then put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, a rally capped by Jeff Conine’s two-run double off reliever Lou Pote, to send the Angels to a season-high 12 1/2 games behind Seattle in the American League West.

“Maybe if we pulled to within 8-5 in the fifth, it’s a different game,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “When you’re down eight early, it’s tough to scratch and claw your way back.”

Because of a day off and Tuesday’s rainout, Schoeneweis hadn’t pitched in a week, but he did not use the longer layoff as an excuse. In fact, Schoeneweis jumped in front of leadoff batter Brady Anderson with two strikes in the first before Anderson fouled off several pitches and drew a walk.

Mike Bordick singled, Delino DeShields beat out an infield single to load the bases, and one run scored on a wild pitch. Conine singled in a run, Segui doubled in two runs, and Cal Ripken’s broken-bat RBI looper to left made it 5-0. Ripken was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double for the first out of the inning.

“The first guy drew a tough walk, and things didn’t get much better after that,” said Schoeneweis, who has an 0-3 career record and 8.28 earned-run average against Baltimore.

“Before you know it, they’ve got a bunch of runs and I haven’t gotten anyone out. Obviously, I didn’t have my best stuff, but whatever I threw up there, they hit it somewhere. Then I sawed Ripken’s bat in half, and his bat went almost as far as the ball. . . . What can you do?”