Eckstein and Ortiz Play Starring Roles

The Angels gathered in their clubhouse Wednesday to do what fans have done for the last few weeks. For the Angels, the time had come to fill in their All-Star ballots.

The new All-Star selection process offers players a chance to participate, and the Angels individually voted for eight position players, a designated hitter, five starters and three relievers in the American League. It is unlikely that any of those ballots included the names of Ramon Ortiz or David Eckstein, but they were the stars of the Angels’ 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners before 40,651 at Edison Field.

In six games over the last 10 days against the first-place Mariners, the Angels have won two. Ortiz has both victories, taming the mighty Jamie Moyer each time.

“Unbelievable,” Ortiz said.

Eckstein tied a career high with four hits, one day after the Angels dropped him from first to ninth in their batting order. He also hit his first home run since May 3. Manager Mike Scioscia said he would remain at the bottom of the order for now, and Eckstein said one good game hardly provides cause for relaxation.

“The pressure is always going to be there,” he said. “I put pressure on myself to perform. That’s the only way I know how to perform.”

Shawn Wooten homered too, and Garret Anderson contributed three hits. Anderson is hitting .403 off Moyer, particularly noteworthy in a lineup that went 24 consecutive innings without scoring against him.

But the Angels ended that streak in a 2-0 victory at Seattle last week, and Ortiz extended his streak of scoreless innings against the Mariners to 12 before giving up two runs in the fifth inning and another in the sixth.

Ben Weber induced Ichiro Suzuki to ground into an inning-ending double play in the sixth inning, in which Suzuki hit the ball but two runners were tagged out in rundowns -- and Brendan Donnelly and Troy Percival closed out the Mariners from there.

“I say it all the time: The Angels’ bullpen is the best in the major leagues,” Ortiz said.

Suzuki’s hitting streak ended at 19 games. The Angels collected 10 hits, their third consecutive game with at least 10.

Ortiz (9-5) won his fifth consecutive game. No teammate has won more than six games. And, perhaps most encouraging for a pitcher who gave up the most home runs in the major leagues last season, he has not given up a homer in his last three games. He has won all three, with a 1.35 earned-run average.

The Mariners had two runs in and two runners on base in the fifth inning, but John Olerud grounded into an inning-ending double play. Ortiz caught the relay throw at first base, completing the double play, then thrust his fist into the air.

“A little bit of emotion,” he said. “I like it.”

The Angels have been elated by the poise shown by Ortiz in his last two starts, pitching out of a fifth-inning jam Wednesday and out of a bases-loaded, none-out mess last week in Seattle.

In either case, there was no need for catcher Bengie Molina to rush to the mound to calm Ortiz, no need for pitching coach Bud Black to call time and personally deliver a fix-it plan. That is enormous progress, not measured by any statistic.

“I don’t know if we’ve seen any kind of epiphany, or him turning a corner,” Scioscia said. “It’s just steady growth.”

The Angels struck quickly against Moyer (10-5), as Eric Owens singled home one run and Eckstein doubled in another in the second inning.

The extra-base hit was the first for Eckstein since May 22, the multiple-hit game his first since June 14. He began play Wednesday with one hit in his last 28 at-bats.

Wooten doubled home Troy Glaus in the third inning and homered in the fifth. Eckstein provided Percival with a cushion by hitting a two-run homer in the eighth.