Angels Get Their Sweep

Poor Darin Erstad. The Angel outfielder is up at the plate these days “just trying to survive,” he says, “just trying to find holes.”

Save the sympathy for the opposing pitchers.

Erstad will never be happy because he is on an eternal search for the perfect swing. But his manager and teammates are perfectly satisfied with the swing he has right now.

Sunday at Miller Park in front of 23,751, Erstad doubled his first two times up, the second driving in three runs in a 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, giving the Angels a sweep of the three-game series and improving their record to 43-29.

Saturday, Erstad had four hits and drove in three runs. In Friday’s series opener, he had two hits and a run batted in. That’s eight hits and seven RBIs in three games.

“It’s a long year,” said Erstad, refusing to savor the moment. “Things tend to even out. I’m not particularly happy with my swing. That’s baseball.

“Nobody’s ever figured it out and I’m not going to try to figure it out. I’m just trying to put the ball into play. It’s better than striking out.”

Everybody in the Angel lineup seems to be putting the ball into play these days. Hitting .281 as a team, the Angels began Sunday with the best average in the majors. Their 357 strikeouts are the fewest of any club.

Another of Sunday’s hitting stars was second baseman Adam Kennedy, who had three singles.

He had been in a 0-for-12 skid when he came to Milwaukee, but managed to get back in the groove with seven hits in the series.

“When you are going bad, you feel like [the ball] is going 200 miles an hour,” Kennedy said. “But in times like this, I feel like I have more control.”

One of the beneficiaries of Sunday’s offense was Angel starter Kevin Appier (6-6). The 14-year veteran had been in a slump recently, losing five in a row with an earned-run average of 8.31.

But Sunday, he was able to relax, his teammates getting him two runs before he took the mound. Eckstein opened the game with a single, moved to third on Erstad’s first double and scored on a groundout by Orlando Palmeiro. Garrett Anderson then followed with a run-scoring single.

Appier began dubiously. When Milwaukee’s first hitter, Alex Sanchez, laid down a bunt, Appier slipped fielding it and wound up helpless on the ground, watching Sanchez race safely to first.

But Sanchez didn’t score and neither did any other Brewer until Tyler Houston, the team’s top hitter at .346, hit his seventh home run to right field leading off the seventh.

After he subsequently walked Matt Stairs and gave up a double to Mark Loretta, Appier came out, having given up six hits, striking out six and walking two.

“Ape’s velocity was good and his location was good,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“Hopefully this will boost his confidence.”

Reliever Ben Weber came in to shut down the Brewers in the seventh and eighth innings.

Closer Troy Percival gave up the final Milwaukee run in the ninth on one of his two wild pitches, the run charged to Weber, but Percival then struck out Jose Hernandez to secure his 17th save.

Brewer starter Ben Sheets (4-8) took the loss, giving up five runs in six innings.

Milwaukee hadn’t played the Angels since moving to the National League after the 1997 season. After this horrendous weekend, it would be understandable if the Brewers never wanted to see the Angels again. With their offense in high gear, the Angels outscored the Brewers, 24-8, in the series.

It’s not just the Angels, though. As poorly as the Brewers (26-49) are playing, they are particularly inept against their former brethren in the American League. Milwaukee is 1-8 in interleague play this season and has lost 12 of its last 13 against the American League.

Erstad, on the other hand, has been especially effective in interleague play.

Since its inception in 1997, he has 146 hits, a major-league high for interleague play.

Imagine what he could do if he ever found that perfect swing.