Appier Helps Angels Make Best of It, 6-1

There were no major implications or grandiose conclusions to draw from the Angels’ 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Sunday at Edison Field. The Angels played crisply against a mediocre team and avoided injuries, and on a day that capped a tumultuous week, that was enough.

Kevin Appier continued his mastery of the Devil Rays by giving up only four hits and one run in six innings while exhibiting what Manager Mike Scioscia called his best stuff of the season. Surging Troy Glaus picked up two more hits, including a double off the scoreboard; 10 of his last 12 hits have gone for extra bases.

Replacement center fielder Jeff DaVanon contributed by scoring on a delayed double steal after legging out a double on a sharply hit ball to left-center field that reminded the Angels of the hustle they are missing from regular center fielder Darin Erstad.

But not even heads-up play could erase the fact that the Angels are still without Erstad, their team leader, and Troy Percival, their closer, after the latter suffered a potentially serious hip injury earlier in the week. There’s also this to consider: The Angels went 3-3 in a six-game home stand against the hapless Devil Rays and Baltimore Orioles.

For those who prefer to look on the bright side, the Angels (24-24) are back to .500 and out of last place in the American League West after their second consecutive victory.

Appier (3-2) gave the Angels their second quality start in two days, striking out four while displaying increased velocity and movement on his pitches, and became the team’s only starter with a winning record. Appier improved to 7-0 lifetime with a 1.82 earned-run average against the Devil Rays.

The Angels already had a five-run lead in the sixth inning when Ben Grieve hit a home run to account for Tampa Bay’s run. Appier was pulled after the sixth even though he had thrown only 95 pitches and felt strong enough to continue, but the right-hander said he understood the reasoning: He is coming off a recent stint on the disabled list and the Angels had plenty of relievers rested and ready.

Scot Shields pitched two scoreless innings and Francisco Rodriguez threw a perfect ninth with two strikeouts. The Angels can only hope that the back-to-back strong outings from John Lackey and Appier are a sign that a starting staff with a 5.09 ERA is starting to come around.

“This staff has a lot of talent,” Appier said, “and hopefully we can hold up at least our end of the deal.”

Said Scioscia: “If you don’t have all five guys pitching with some type of consistency, you’re not going to have any continuity.”

DaVanon gave the Angels a spark in the fifth when he got a double on a line-drive that would have been a single for most big league hitters. “I took a chance because I was leading off an inning,” DaVanon said.

DaVanon moved to third on David Eckstein’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a double steal after Tampa Bay catcher Toby Hall threw to second to try to catch Glaus, who had drawn an intentional walk and attempted a steal on a pitch to Tim Salmon. DaVanon broke as soon as Hall released the ball and scored just ahead of the throw home to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.

Glaus added another run in the inning when he scored on Garret Anderson’s triple to right-center that was nearly caught by Devil Ray center fielder Rocco Baldelli, who gloved the ball after a long run but could not hold on as he fell to the dirt on the warning track.

“Once he hit the ground, I knew he didn’t have it because he didn’t show [the ball] to the umpire,” said Anderson, who is mired in a two-for-23 slump that has dropped his batting average to .308, his lowest since opening day.

Anderson attributed his funk to an inability to find holes in the defense and said he was fouling off pitches he usually puts in play. “I’ll get it back and I’ll be fine,” he said. “I know I can hit, so I’m not worried about it.”