Passive Angels Anger Guillen

The Angels were a little cranky when they got to the Skydome on Monday afternoon, having spent much of the previous night in an airplane on a Detroit tarmac, and they were in a downright foul mood after a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The source of their frustration, though, had nothing to do with the botched run-down play that allowed the Blue Jays to score the winning run, the two misplayed balls by center fielder Chone Figgins that helped Toronto score two runs, or the ejections of Manager Mike Scioscia and pitcher John Lackey in the sixth inning.

It had everything to do with left fielder Jose Guillen, who was so upset after getting drilled in the ribs by a sixth-inning fastball that he lashed out at his own teammates -- and not so much at Toronto starter Justin Miller -- for not retaliating, his blistering criticism causing some tense moments in the clubhouse and threatening to drive a wedge between Angel hitters and pitchers.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve been hit, and there’s no retaliation; I don’t know how many times Vladdy has been hit, and nobody ... does anything,” Guillen said, referring to teammate Vladimir Guerrero. “I’m giving everything I’ve got -- I’m playing hurt, I’m playing in pain -- and I’m not getting any help from nobody.”

With Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon and Darin Erstad on the disabled list, Scioscia has not been able to provide much lineup protection for Guillen, who is batting .315 with nine home runs and 36 runs batted in.

Opponents have been pitching Guillen inside all season, and he has been hit by pitches a team-high six times, including once on the left wrist in the first week of the season. Guerrero has been hit twice.

Guillen believed Miller’s pitch Monday was intentional -- it was a first-pitch fastball with a runner on third and two outs, a situation in which Guillen and several Angels felt the Blue Jays did not want to pitch to Guillen.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lackey knocked down No. 9 batter Simon Pond with a high-and-tight fastball and was ejected after umpire Jim Reynolds ruled that his next pitch, a waist-high breaking pitch, grazed Pond’s jersey.

That, apparently, was not enough retaliation for Guillen, whose profanity-laced tirade was quickly brought to the attention of Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black. Black seemed visibly upset but refused to comment. Scioscia issued a stern warning: If it was a Pond of flesh Guillen was after, he’s in the wrong place.

“Here’s our philosophy -- we pitch inside aggressively to get outs,” Scioscia said. “If we think guys are throwing at us [deliberately] I will take it up with the other manager and settle it. Jose is very frustrated. He understands he’s going to get pitched inside -- any guy with power is going to get pitched inside -- but there is no room in this game for bean balls.”

Angel pitcher Jarrod Washburn said the issue “should be talked about between the hitters and pitchers, so it’s something we’ll discuss. There are always situations when you feel your guys are getting thrown at, and you need to protect them.”

Closer Troy Percival “didn’t blame” Guillen for being upset, “but we don’t go headhunting or retaliating,” the 10-year veteran said.

Lackey wouldn’t say whether he was trying to send a message with his knockdown of Pond, but there seemed to be some purpose to his pitch when the right-hander said, “I think they hit four of our guys tonight ... we’ve only got a couple guys left.”

Tempers flared in the sixth, with Guillen glaring at Miller after getting hit and the Blue Jay pitcher taking several steps toward Guillen, as if to provoke him. First base coach Alfredo Griffin intervened, and there was no altercation.

Reynolds issued a warning to Miller and both benches, so when the umpire believed Lackey threw at Pond in the bottom of the sixth, both Lackey and Scioscia were automatically ejected. Scioscia stormed out of the dugout, angry with the ejection and the pitch, which replays showed did not actually hit Pond.

The Angels had a 5-4 lead at the time, built in part on the strength of consecutive home runs by Guerrero, Guillen and Jeff DaVanon in the third. The Blue Jays rallied to tie it in the eighth with a run against Francisco Rodriguez, only the second earned run the setup man has given up in 24 1/3 innings.

Then Toronto won it on a bizarre play in the 10th. With two out and runners on first and second, Pond hit a shot that first baseman Casey Kotchman knocked down with a dive.

Chris Gomez tried to score from second, seemingly a major gaffe when second baseman Adam Kennedy retrieved the ball and fired home far ahead of Gomez, who was caught in a rundown.

Angel catcher Bengie Molina ran Gomez toward third, threw to third baseman Alfredo Amezaga and peeled off toward the mound. But Angel reliever Ben Weber ran toward first to cover the bag on Pond’s grounder and couldn’t get home in time to provide back-side plate coverage for Molina.

Gomez outran Amezaga and scored with a headfirst dive, ending the Angels’ three-game winning streak.