Time Is Right for Fabregas

If it were Tuesday, Jorge Fabregas would not have been playing.

And in almost any other situation, he might not have been hitting.

But, with starting catcher Bengie Molina put on the disabled list before the game and his brother, triple-A catcher Jose Molina, en route from Nebraska, Angel Manager Mike Scioscia had no choice but to let his backup catcher hit in a critical situation Wednesday night. So Fabregas, whose batting average was one out away from falling below .200, singled home the winning runs in a 10-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Had the Angels lost, they would have fallen into third place in the American League West for the first time since May 8. But, with their casualty list growing on a seemingly daily basis and their general manager so far unable to procure reinforcements, the resilient Angel players shrugged and won the first in a critical 11-game stretch against Oakland and the first-place Seattle Mariners.

They trail the Mariners by three games and lead the A’s by one. In the wild-card race, they trail the Boston Red Sox by a half-game.

“It’s how you persevere and how you come through the tough times that makes a champion,” Fabregas said. “Troy [Percival] is down. Bengie is down. The guys are looking to you to step up.”

The A’s had won 15 of their last 18 games against the Angels; Oakland starter Tim Hudson had a seven-game winning streak against the Angels.

No matter. Fabregas singled home two runs in the decisive sixth inning, giving him his first two-RBI game of the year on one swing.

“You can’t replace Bengie. He’s an extremely clutch hitter,” Fabregas said. “Maybe hitting in his spot rubbed off on me.”

The Angels batted around in the sixth inning and again in the eighth. David Eckstein hit a three-run homer and Garret Anderson hit a two-run homer, and Adam Kennedy and Scott Spiezio had three hits apiece.

Kevin Appier held the A’s to three runs over six innings, with Brendan Donnelly, Scott Schoeneweis and Scot Shields handling the final three innings.

Center fielder Darin Erstad, sidelined by an infected foot, watched from the bench. So did Molina. Three relievers who might have appeared Wednesday--Percival, Al Levine and Dennis Cookpreceded Molina onto the disabled list.

The Angels collected 15 hits. Everyone in the lineup had at least one, with the exception of Brad Fullmer, who walked and was hit by a pitch. Eckstein, the Angels’ leadoff hitter, reached base five times--on the home run, a single, two walks and an error.

The Angels got five hits in the decisive sixth inning, but the batter who did not get a hit might have been the most valuable.

With the Angels down, 3-2, Anderson doubled to start the inning. Troy Glaus struck out; he struck out in all three at-bats against Hudson.

Fullmer then drew a walk, but not before apparently exhausting Hudson by working the count full, then fouling off three pitches.

Did that tire out Hudson? Sure seemed to, because the next three batters rocked him for hits, and he was gone.

Spiezio doubled in Anderson with the tying run.

The Angels had no left-handed hitters available to bat for Fabregas, and besides they preferred not to have utilityman Shawn Wooten catch the final four innings. So Fabregas, with a .200 average at the time, was allowed to hit.

And hit he did. He singled home Fullmer and Spiezio, giving the Angels a 5-3 lead. Kennedy singled too, and Hudson departed. He had made 100 pitches without surviving the sixth inning.

Whether he might have batted for Fabregas had the Angels had a full roster, Scioscia suggested, was hypothetical. What was not, Scioscia said, was the terrific job Fabregas did in guiding Appier.

“Jorge called an excellent game, and that’s what we need from him,” Scioscia said. “If he can catch the way he did, that’s something we’ll desperately need.”