Latest Change Doesn’t Help Angel Cause

Searching for ways to bolster his underachieving lineup, Mike Scioscia on Friday benched Adam Kennedy and his .172 batting average at Angel Stadium.

The move was temporary -- the second baseman is scheduled to return to the lineup Sunday after getting another day off today -- but the message might linger in the clubhouse the rest of the season: perform, or don’t play.

The Angels still appeared in need of some sort of motivation, however unpleasant, after a late comeback bid collapsed during a 5-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers in front of a sellout crowd of 43,580.

Two errant throws by Detroit infielders in the eighth had allowed the Angels to score the tying run before Angel closer Troy Percival yielded two runs in the ninth, the second scoring on a controversial play.

After Craig Monroe singled in the go-ahead run and went to third on Brandon Inge’s bloop single to right-center, Monroe went back to third to tag up on Nook Logan’s fly ball to right fielder Vladimir Guerrero. After making the catch, Guerrero fired the ball to shortstop David Eckstein, who tagged out Logan going to second just as Monroe was reaching home plate.

Home plate umpire Tim McClelland ruled Monroe had scored before Eckstein made the last out of the inning, prompting a protest from Scioscia.

“It was irrelevant,” Percival said of the insurance run. “I just didn’t pitch very well.... I just had bad stuff.”

Scioscia addressed the Angels in a closed-door meeting after their third defeat in four games dropped them into a second-place tie with the Texas Rangers in the wild-card standings, one game behind the Boston Red Sox. The Oakland Athletics still lead the Angels by 1 1/2 games in the American League West.

“He said, ‘Everyone’s got ups and downs during the season, we’ve just got to keep our downs short,’ ” Percival said of Scioscia’s address.

Robb Quinlan scored the tying run in the eighth after hitting a two-out single that shortstop Carlos Guillen fielded but threw wildly to first, pulling first baseman Carlos Pena off the bag. Jeff DaVanon then singled to second baseman Omar Infante, whose throw bounced past Pena, allowing Quinlan to score.

But the Angels failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities early, stranding two runners in three of the first four innings. The Angels stranded 10 runners overall and went two for 11 with runners in scoring position.

“Guys in that room are pressing,” Scioscia said, referring to the Angel clubhouse. “We need to get back to the inning-to-inning, at-bat-to-at-bat baseball that can pressure other clubs.”

Starting pitcher John Lackey turned in a so-so performance -- tying a season high with seven strikeouts and giving up seven hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings -- that might have been more memorable had his teammates been able to take an early lead.

“If he gets some early runs, he’s going to be able to make some pitches and not worry that one run is going to ruin him,” Scioscia said.

Perhaps no Angel is pressing as much as Kennedy, who acknowledged that he has felt comfortable in the batter’s box only sporadically this season. The second baseman called Scioscia’s move to sit him for consecutive days “definitely the right decision,” even though he had hit two homers in four career at-bats against Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman, who did not receive a decision Friday.

The Angel manager said he wanted to allow Kennedy, hitting .216 in his last 51 at-bats and .255 overall, to “mentally refresh.”

“It’s not good for me,” Kennedy said of the decision, “but the team can’t keep going like that with someone not producing like I have been.”

Scioscia said he did not think Kennedy’s swing required a major overhaul.

“Most of the adjustments you’ll make that turn out to be productive are very subtle,” Scioscia said.

“It’s usually a small thing that will get you back in sync to where your talent will do what it can do on the field.”