DaVanon Leads Hit Parade

With the Angels already ahead by 10 runs, Jeff DaVanon had the permission of at least one teammate to think about his place in baseball history Wednesday night at Angel Stadium when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning.

Accepting Robb Quinlan’s suggestion that he “had to go for it,” DaVanon hit a solo homer during a record-breaking 21-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals in which DaVanon became the fourth Angel to hit for the cycle.

“I swung as hard as I could, and it worked out,” said DaVanon, who said he experienced chills as he trotted toward first base. “I knew I had done it.”

Expected to be a role player on a roster featuring Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen, DaVanon shared a spotlight on a night the Angels won their eighth consecutive game and set a record for runs scored at home.

Jose Molina hit a grand slam, Garret Anderson drove in a season-high five runs and Guerrero collected his 100th RBI as the Angels scored their most runs in a game since beating the Cleveland Indians, 21-2, on April 30, 2002.

But center stage belonged to DaVanon, whose offensive onslaught helped the Angels remain in a virtual tie with the Boston Red Sox atop the wild-card standings and a half-game behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West.

After becoming the first Angel to hit for the cycle since Dave Winfield on June 24, 1991, at Kansas City, DaVanon was presented with the lineup card and home run ball.

The reserve outfielder said he might frame the card for his dad, who was watching on television in Houston.

“This is a very special night,” said DaVanon, adding that it trumped a stretch last season in which he tied a major league record by hitting two homers in three consecutive games.

DaVanon’s four hits, which also included a two-run double in the third, a triple in the fourth and a run-scoring single in the fifth, accounted for four runs and led the Angels’ 22-hit attack. DaVanon earned a standing ovation from the crowd of 39,657 in the eighth before grounding into a double play in his sixth at-bat.

“It was fun to watch,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said of DaVanon’s feat. “J.D.’s been swinging the bat better lately, and he’s got the potential to do that.”

Anderson added three hits, including a three-run homer, for an Angel team that earned its fans complimentary chicken wings by the bottom of the fourth, when it scored its 10th and 11th runs en route to setting a season high for run production.

And yet, the Angels (73-54) still had more than a few finishing touches to put on their seven-game season series sweep of the Royals, their first season sweep of an AL team in franchise history.

They struck for two runs in the sixth on run-scoring hits by Guerrero and Darin Erstad, and five more in the seventh, four on Molina’s first grand slam.

“I guess to call it a great offensive night would be an understatement,” said Scioscia, whose team batted around twice and went 11 for 19 with runners in scoring position.

Things went so smoothly for the Angels that David Eckstein scored twice despite finishing hitless in four at-bats, coming home in the third after drawing a walk and in the seventh after being hit by a pitch.

Angel starter Ramon Ortiz was not as efficient. Handed a 10-run cushion to start the fifth, Ortiz promptly surrendered six consecutive hits, including Abraham Nunez’s two-run homer and Desi Relaford’s two-run double.

Angel Berroa grounded into an inning-ending double play, saving Ortiz (5-7) from the disgrace of being removed from a game his team led by six runs.

That came an inning later, after Ortiz surrendered another run in the sixth. He gave up six runs and tied a season high by giving up 12 hits before relievers Brendan Donnelly and Matt Hensley shut out Kansas City over the final three innings.

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Covering the Bases

When Angel Jeff DaVanon hit for the cycle Wednesday it was the 266th time that it has happened in major league history. DaVanon is the sixth player to do it this season:

*--* Player Team Date, Opponent CHAD MOELLER Milwaukee April 27 vs. Cincinnati DARYLE WARD Pittsburgh May 26 vs. St. Louis DAVID BELL Philadelphia June 28 vs. Montreal ERIC VALENT N.Y. Mets July 29 vs. Montreal MARK TEIXEIRA Texas Aug. 17 vs. Cleveland

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