Angels Rise to Occasion at Just the Right Time

Angel shortstop David Eckstein has certainly had more impressive at-bats with the bases loaded.

Yet, even with three grand slams to his name this season, Eckstein cherished the broken-bat roller that went off the glove of Tampa Bay third baseman Jared Sandberg on Friday. That, at last, was all it took for the Angels to scratch out a 6-5 victory in front of 23,648 at Edison Field.

Eckstein’s grounder, with the infield drawn in, scored Scott Spiezio. The ball barely went 90 feet. The bat ended up as a souvenir for a little girl. And the Angels moved back to within four games of first-place Seattle in the AL West.

Some hit.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it did the job,” Eckstein said.

Which is what can be said about the Angels’ play throughout Friday.

The Angels played to their opponent’s level, which was unfortunate for them as they were playing the team with the worst record in baseball. From the first batter, when center fielder Darin Erstad lost a fly ball that became a double, this was going to be a struggle.

“We really didn’t play a good ball game, but the guys kept battling,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

The Devil Rays had lost their last eight road games. They were 4-16 on the road in their last 20 games.

The Angels, though, did plenty to help the Devil Rays.

Pitcher Aaron Sele was shaky early and gave up 12 hits, but he was still in a position to win after leaving with a 5-3 lead in the eighth. Ben Weber then underscored the Angel bullpen concerns by giving up two singles and a walk, then threw a wild pitch to get the Devil Rays even.

“That was very disappointing,” Scioscia said.

It wasn’t the only such moment.

The Angels were uncertain in the field. Erstad lost the fly ball. First baseman Spiezio and second baseman Jose Nieves couldn’t figure out who was to catch Toby Hall’s third-inning flare, which scored a run.

The Angels took themselves out of opportunities. Garret Anderson was picked off second base with none out in the seventh. Benji Gil couldn’t bunt Adam Kennedy over to third with none out in the eighth.

None of that mattered when Eckstein came to the plate in the 10th.

Spiezio doubled to lead off and, one out later, pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro singled. Jorge Fabregas walked, bringing up Eckstein, who was one for 14 in the last four games.

He rolled reliever Estaban Yan’s 1-0 pitch like it was Bocci ball.

“I haven’t been hitting the ball the way I want lately,” Eckstein said. “So any hit I get, I’ll take it.”

This is a key series in Angel eyes. They are fresh from losing two out of three to mediocre Baltimore. Another poor performance against the Devil Rays is hardly the way the Angels want to roll into the All-Star break, when they will then face a make-or-break stretch.

After easing in with a four-game trip to Kansas City, the Angels play Minnesota, Seattle, Oakland, Boston and New York in their next 20 games.

“We need to win series,” Erstad said. “We’ve done a pretty good job of that so far this season. But with the string of games we have after the All-Star break, it’s important that we’re playing our best going into that.”

The Angels have two more games with the Devil Rays to start rolling. Although, according to Scioscia, that’s easier said than done.

“Anytime you go out there, there is a pitcher who can beat you,” Scioscia said. “Every night there is a pitcher who is capable of shutting you down.”

That’s how it has been lately. Every night there has been a pitcher who has shut the Angels down. Of course, you won’t see any of them in Tuesday’s All-Star game.

Joe Kennedy wasn’t overpowering, but kept the Angels guessing. He gave up only two runs through six innings.

The Angel offense finally made an appearance in the seventh.

Eckstein slapped a single to right to lead off. Erstad crushed a line drive into the right-field corner and Eckstein never broke stride, tying the score, 3-3. Tim Salmon then beat out an infield hit, setting up Anderson, the Angels’ lone All-Star. He lined a double to the right-field fence, scoring Erstad and Salmon.