Empty Feeling for the Angels

Turning the page? Ripping it out and tossing it into a roaring bonfire might be the more appropriate way for the Angels to respond to a 10-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night at the Metrodome in which they tied an American League record by hitting into six double plays.

The Angels made the least of their 11 hits, failing to score after putting the leadoff man on base five times and going hitless in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“It’s uncharacteristic of our offense,” said Angel Manager Mike Scioscia, whose team leads the league in batting average but is seventh in runs scored. “We’re usually very aggressive and we can avoid the double play for the most part. Tonight, it didn’t matter where we were hitting them, they were double plays.”

The Angels got the leadoff man on base in each of the first three innings but hit into a double play each time, assisting Minnesota starter Carlos Silva on a night his statistics indicated he deserved a worse fate than his first career shutout.

“We were making solid contact and every inning hitting into a double play somehow,” said David Eckstein, who was doubled off first base in the third inning after first baseman Justin Morneau caught Chone Figgins’ line drive. “It’s just one of those nights where you go out and get great swings against a guy and have absolutely nothing to show for it.”

That was not the case for the Minnesota hitters, who hit two of their four home runs off starter John Lackey and handed the Angels their most lopsided loss of the season. The defeat dropped the Angels 3 1/2 games behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West and two games behind the Texas Rangers in the wild-card standings.

Lackey said he was disappointed by only three of his 104 pitches, though they ended up costing the Angels five runs. Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie each homered on mistake pitches in the fourth to give the Twins a 3-0 lead, and Shannon Stewart hit a two-run double over right fielder Vladimir Guerrero’s head in the sixth on a pitch Lackey left up in the strike zone to make it 7-0.

Meanwhile, the Angels stranded eight baserunners and erased six more while hitting into almost every conceivable double play. The Angels appeared on the brink of ending Silva’s shutout bid in the ninth when they put two on with one out, only to watch Adam Kennedy ground into a game-ending 3-6-1 double play.

“Our type of offense is one that has been resistant to long droughts because we’ve been able to pressure teams, we’ve been able to do things, and we have to re-establish that,” Scioscia said. “Tonight was probably the furthest away from our type of game that we need to play.

“It was one game, we’ve got to turn the page and pick it right back up.”

The Angels started the game on a promising note when Eckstein looped a single over second baseman Luis Rivas’ head and went to second on Figgins’ single. But after Garret Anderson took a called third strike, Guerrero hit into a double play.

Darin Erstad singled in the second to put runners on first and second before Jose Guillen was erased when Robb Quinlan lined out to Rivas, who flipped the ball to shortstop Cristian Guzman for another double play.

Lackey (9-10), who had won five of his last six decisions, gave up seven hits and seven runs in 5 2/3 innings.

By contrast, Silva (10-7) shut down the Angels despite tying a career high in hits allowed. The right-hander punctuated the victory by firing a ball into the upper deck in a move Minnesota Manager Ron Gardenhire called “very unprofessional.”

The Angels were more concerned with the balls that landed in the Twins’ gloves.

“It’s one of the things where if you’re getting that many hits, you definitely need to score some runs,” Eckstein said.