Angels Go Double Deep on the Royals

The smattering of Angel fans who lingered at Edison Field from the first pitch to the last Saturday -- a span of 5 hours 23 minutes -- were treated to two victories for the price of one as the Angels completed their first doubleheader sweep in nearly four years.

When it came to the two Angel pitchers auditioning for a spot in next year’s rotation, there was a split decision. While Scot Shields displayed little progress during the Angels’ 6-5 victory over Kansas City in the first game, Kevin Gregg dazzled during the Angels’ 3-1 triumph in the second.

Utilizing precise control of his fastball against a fastball-hitting team, Gregg gave up four hits and one run over seven innings to record his first major league victory in front of a crowd that swelled from about 1,000 at the outset of the first game to 43,044 during the second.

“It says a lot for how he was hitting his spots and mixing his pitches up,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He really had command of his fastball and he went right after guys.”

Gregg, who has made the ascent from double-A Arkansas to Anaheim this season, said he was not intimidated by a lineup that included several players he had faced in the minor leagues. The 24-year-old right-hander also had faced Royal sluggers Carlos Beltran and Mike Sweeney during their respective rehabilitation assignments.

“I had an idea how to pitch to some of them,” said Gregg, who walked one and struck out four. “I’m not really going to be able to overpower anybody, so I’ve got to be able to move [my pitches] back and forth and change speeds with it, and that’s what I did tonight.”

In two starts with the Angels, Gregg has struck out 10 over 13 innings while compiling a 1.38 earned-run average.

“It’s safe to say that the two starts he’s had up here show that his stuff plays in the major leagues, and we’re not going to hesitate to put him out there if there’s a need for him,” Scioscia said.

Scioscia said he might be able to give Gregg another start in the next two weeks since the Angels don’t have an off day until Sept. 18.

Gregg retired nine batters in a row after Aaron Guiel led off with a double and scored on Desi Relaford’s triple. He retired the last eight batters he faced before being relieved by Brendan Donnelly in the eighth.

Adam Kennedy ended a 1-1 tie in the third when he hammered a two-run homer against starter Jamey Wright. Tom Gregorio singled in his first two major league at-bats for the Angels.

Shields gave up seven hits and four runs over five innings in the first game and left with the Angels trailing, 4-3. Shields, who hit two batters and gave up a two-run homer to Beltran, is 2-3 in seven starts since replacing the released Kevin Appier in the rotation.

Shields received a no-decision Saturday after the Angels rallied with three runs in the seventh -- Jeff DaVanon driving in the tying and go-ahead runs with a pinch-hit single -- to give Ben Weber (5-1) the victory.

“He’s not where he was probably when he first started getting his spot in the rotation,” Scioscia said of Shields. “He’s got a ways to go as far as his command and repeating pitches, but it’s a step forward from where he was these last couple of starts.”

The most promising development for Shields was that he reported regaining arm strength after worrying following his previous start that he might be going through a “dead-arm” phase.

“The results weren’t there,” Shields said, “but I felt all right.”

Closer Troy Percival utilized pinpoint control of his breaking ball while pitching a scoreless ninth in both games to record saves Nos. 30 and 31 as the Angels completed their first doubleheader sweep since Sept. 14, 1999, at Kansas City.

“I’ve been working as much as I can to be able to throw that consistently,” said Percival, who has registered at least 30 saves in six consecutive seasons. “I knew it was going to take a couple of steps backward to move a couple of steps forward, and unfortunately I had a couple of rough outings in there. But I think my last two, even three, have started to feel a lot better.”