Angels Run It Up in Rout of Indians

This is how ridiculously successful the Angels were Tuesday: Jeff DaVanon set a career high by driving in four runs. He did not enter the game until the eighth inning.

“It was contagious,” DaVanon said. “About anyone you could have put in there tonight had a good chance of getting a hit.”

No kidding. The Angels cast aside a frustrating April in historic fashion, scoring more runs than the team had in all but one of the previous 6,536 games in club history. With 22 hits, including four from Troy Glaus, and home runs from DaVanon, Glaus and Darin Erstad, the Angels extended their winning streak to five games by embarrassing the Cleveland Indians, 21-2.

“It was pretty awesome, don’t you think?” catcher Bengie Molina said. “That was pretty nice. You always want to score a lot of runs, but you never think about getting 20.”

The Angels scored more runs only once--24, against the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 25, 1979, in a season in which Nolan Ryan, Don Baylor and Bobby Grich wore the halo.

A statistic to illustrate the Angels’ dominance Tuesday? Pick one, or all: The Angels scored in all but two innings. They scored 10 runs in the eighth inning, three shy of the club record. The 22 hits were four shy of the club record.

Every starter scored. Every starter had at least one hit, except Tim Salmon, who reached base three times on two walks and a hit by pitch. Glaus drove in five runs.

For the first time this season, the Angels hit three home runs. Erstad hit his first homer of the season. So did DaVanon, who came off the bench to homer in the eighth and single in the ninth. Orlando Palmeiro came off the bench to pinch-run in the eighth and got to bat before the inning ended.

The clubhouse mood was not giddy.

Said Garret Anderson: “Nobody’s walking around in here with their chests out.”

Said Erstad: “This is definitely an aberration.”

While the 21 runs might be an aberration, the Angels playing a solid game is not, reinforcing the confidence that restrains one from jumping for joy based on one spectacular night. Ramon Ortiz, the Angels’ most effective starter this season, held the Indians to one run over eight innings and lowered his earned-run average to 2.55.

During the five-game winning streak, the Angels’ ERA is 2.54, and the team batting average is .355. They have scored 54 runs in five games, with at least 10 hits in each.

Glaus is hitting .452 over his last seven games, Anderson .415 over his last 15 games, Molina .405 over his last 10. The Angels have hit 10 home runs in their last 11 games.

Amid a festival of boos at Jacobs Field--the Indians lost for the 12th time in 15 games, before a crowd of 24,286 that ranked as the second-smallest in stadium history--the Angels scored the most runs by an opponent in stadium history.

It could be the shirt. Batting coach Mickey Hatcher wore his red undershirt backward on the day the Angels started their streak. “I’m backwards man,” he said.

But it could be the roster too. The Angels weathered the suspensions of Glaus and Scott Spiezio, the disabled-list stint of closer Troy Percival and the concussion-related absence of Erstad, and now the crisis atmosphere that surrounded the poor start has evaporated.

April is over. One week ago, the Angels awoke 101/2 games out of first place. Today, they’re 61/2 out, with the longest active winning streak in the league. They’re 11-14, and the season is far from lost.

“It’s 180 degrees from where we were last week at this time,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We really have just gotten our full club together, after suspensions, injuries, concussions, whatever. Hopefully, we can move forward from here.”

*

(BEGIN OF TEXT INFOBOX)

Run Around

Though a healthy total, the Angels’ 21 runs Tuesday was not even a club record for one game. Here are the top league and club scoring efforts:

NL--36, by Chicago vs. Louisville, June 29, 1897 (since 1900: 28 by St. Louis vs. Philadelphia, July 6, 1929)

AL--29, by Boston vs. St. Louis, June 8, 1950; and by Chicago vs. Kansas City, April 23, 1955.

Angels--24, vs. Toronto, Aug. 25, 1979.

*

Runneth Over

Most runs scored by the Angels in club history:

*--* 24 Aug. 25, 1979 at Toronto 21 April 30, 2002 at Cleveland 20 June 20, 1980 at Boston 20 June 29, 1995 at Texas

*--*