Appier’s Worries, Losses Mount

Angel starter Kevin Appier has overcome too much in 13 major league seasons to panic because of a rough stretch.

Manager Mike Scioscia sticks with veterans during tough times because he doesn’t scare easily, either.

Then again, there comes a point when experience helps only so much. Appier struggled again Tuesday night in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 7-2 interleague victory at Busch Stadium.

Appier (5-6) lasted only two-plus innings in his fourth straight ineffective outing, dropping his fifth in a row as the Angels (39-28) lost their third in a row and fell two games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West.

Drawing on past success has helped the 152-game winner during previous hard times, but even that’s wearing thin now.

“I don’t know if that’s helping so much anymore,” said Appier, whose earned-run average ballooned from 3.87 to 4.48. “It’s still very tough. Definitely.”

Pitching coach Bud Black remains optimistic, saying Appier does not need a major overhaul to return to form.

“He’s going through a rough stretch and he has to work his way through it,” Black said. “There is not a magic solution. You trust your ability and what made you a winning pitcher, and you keep going out there.”

A crowd of 39,386 barely had time to settle in before Appier was on the ropes again, getting pounded for nine hits--including two home runs--in his shortest stint in 14 starts with the Angels.

Appier faced three batters in the third, getting chased on Edgar Renteria’s two-run homer that gave the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. That marked another early exit for a starter who has made many recently.

“We’re human,” Scioscia said. “[Players are] obviously going to have some highs and lows, ups and downs. But our patience is strong, especially with Ape, because we know what he brings.”

Cardinal center fielder Jim Edmonds seized an opportunity against Appier, leading off the third inning with an opposite-field home run in his first game against his former team since having been traded in March, 2000.

Edmonds provided another flashback for the Angels while chasing down Bengie Molina’s deep drive to left-center in the seventh, receiving a standing ovation after making one of those running, sliding, highlight-reel catches that marked his six-plus seasons at Edison Field.

“It felt like it was an intrasquad game,” Edmonds said. “They were all on the other side and I was by myself.”

St. Louis starter Darryl Kile (5-4) cruised through 7 2/3 strong innings in winning for the third time in four starts, helping the Cardinals (39-29) take sole possession of first in the National League Central with their fourth win in a row.

The Angels are in their first skid since losing four consecutive games from April 20-23, and Appier’s problems top their list of concerns.

“He’s in a little funk right now,” Scioscia said. “Ape was behind in the count a lot, and it’s tough to pitch that way. He dug too much of a hole.”

Appier began the season 5-1 with a 2.96 ERA in his first nine starts. He has an 8.31 ERA during the five-game losing streak.

“I’ve had a number of bad stretches,” Appier said. “This is a lengthy one, but I’ve pulled out of a whole bunch of them.

“After games like this, sometimes you think throwing eight shutout innings seems so far off. But I still know I can get back to that.”

How?

“I have to continue searching with my coaches and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s a balancing act, because you don’t want to listen to too much.

“It’s really easy to get information that doesn’t apply; that’s not going to fix things. But these guys are good. They should be able to point to something that we can work on that, hopefully, can fix it.”

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*--* AL WEST W L GB Seattle 42 27 -- Angels 39 28 2

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