Same Old Problem in Angel Loss

The lineup card had that old comfortable look to it Wednesday. In the cleanup spot, restored from the unfamiliar depths of the bottom of the batting order, was Tim Salmon.

The result, for the Angels, was the same old uncomfortable one. Pretty good pitching, not enough hitting, yet another loss.

Joe Mays, another member of the band of anonymous heroes that is the Minnesota Twins, pitched a five-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over the Angels before 14,913 at Edison Field. The Angels hit a low in a season of valleys, getting shut out at home for the first time in two years.

Mays, 7-3 with a 2.62 earned-run average, has as many victories as Pedro Martinez. The Twins (34-16) have the best record of any team outside of Seattle, and they’re 18 games over .500 for the first time in nine years.

When can we stop calling the Twins a fluke and start calling them a threat?

“You should have done that after the first month,” Mays said. “We’re the real thing. It’s not any more of that garbage about, are these guys for real? We’re here. We’re going to stay up where we are.”

Pat Rapp is pitching well enough that he might not last the summer in Anaheim. If the Angels don’t make up a huge chunk of their 16-game deficit in the next few weeks, they could trade Rapp to a contender.

Hey, it can work. In 1997, the Twins traded veteran outfielder Roberto Kelly to the Mariners. In return, they acquired a Class-A pitching prospect, guy by the name of Joe Mays.

Rapp’s 1-5 record is not attractive, and his 4.85 earned-run average is only mildly attractive, but those numbers are skewed by his first two starts, both awful. In his past nine starts, he is 1-3 with a 3.54 ERA, never giving up more than four earned runs.

“I have no control over the runs we score,” Rapp said. “It took me a few years to figure that out. I try to control what I can control.”

In seven innings Wednesday, he gave up five hits and one earned run, walking one and striking out six.

“I thought it was the best stuff Pat had all year,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said.

To say the Angels had their chances would be overstating it. The Angels had one good chance, and they blew it.

Catcher Jorge Fabregas, who started the game hitting .135, began the third inning with a triple. In 683 at-bats with the Angels, over parts of five seasons, Fabregas never had tripled.

Runner on third, none out? No run is automatic, but it’s tough to get closer than that.

The run never scored. Adam Kennedy popped to center field, too shallow to consider sending Fabregas home. David Eckstein grounded back to Mays, with no chance to send Fabregas home. Darin Erstad grounded out, for the final out.

The Angels never again got a runner into scoring position with none out. Aside from the ninth, when Twin second baseman Luis Rivas botched a pop fly, the Angels never got a runner into scoring position before two were out.

In his return to the heart of the Angel lineup, Salmon walked twice, struck out and popped up.

When he dropped Salmon from the third spot in the order to the seventh May 20, Scioscia said the move was “short-term.” Salmon had three hits Tuesday, including his first home run since May 6, and had five hits in his past 11 at-bats, so Scioscia decided the time was right to return Salmon to the top half of the order.

“I think he’s found his timing and his rhythm,” Scioscia said.

“It looks like he’s turned the corner. He’s really looked good this week.”

Salmon is hitting .216 and has not hit in more than three consecutive games this season. He was far from ready to declare himself back in the groove.

Said Salmon: “Back in a groove? I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a groove this season. I’ve had a couple of good games.”