Last-Pitch Effort Fells Angels, 4-3

For the third time in four games, the Angels watched an opposing player cap an evening with a walk-off hit, forcing them to navigate their way through a helmet-slapping, high-fiving celebration to get to their clubhouse.

Good times, these are not.

“It’s definitely more demoralizing when you’re in every game until the final pitch,” Angel shortstop David Eckstein said after Paul Konerko’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Chicago White Sox a 4-3 victory over the Angels before 21,163 in U.S. Cellular Field on Friday night. “We have to get through that barrier and win one of them.”

Perhaps the addition of slugger Raul Mondesi, the outfielder who on Friday reached an agreement to sign with the Angels and could join the team Sunday or Tuesday, will bolster an offense that is beginning to feel the full effect of the loss of Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus, Darin Erstad and Tim Salmon to injury.

For now, there seems to be a road block between the Angels and victory. They have lost four straight on their trip through Toronto and Chicago. All of the losses have been by one run, and in the three walk-off losses, they held leads in the eighth inning.

Friday night, Jose Guillen snapped a 2-2 tie with his 10th home run of the season, a solo shot to left off reliever Mike Jackson in the top of the eighth, but Kevin Gregg, who relieved starter Kelvim Escobar in the seventh and got Carlos Lee to pop to short to escape a bases-loaded jam, couldn’t hold it in the bottom of the inning.

Normally, the eighth inning would belong to Francisco Rodriguez or Scot Shields, but with Rodriguez having thrown 81 pitches in four games over the previous six days, and Shields having thrown 73 pitches in four games over the previous seven days, Manager Mike Scioscia wanted to avoid using his two primary setup men.

Singles by Jose Valentin and Konerko put runners on first and third with no outs in the eighth, and pinch-hitter Timo Perez slapped a game-tying, RBI single to left.

After Ross Gload struck out and the runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, Gregg wriggled out of the mess when Eckstein threw out Konerko at the plate on Miguel Olivo’s grounder and Willie Harris struck out.

Scioscia summoned Ramon Ortiz to start the ninth, and Juan Uribe opened with a triple off the center-field wall. Scioscia brought Chone Figgins in from center field for his five-man infield alignment, Frank Thomas was intentionally walked, and Lee popped out to catcher Bengie Molina.

The Angels walked Valentin intentionally to load the bases, setting up a possible double play, but Konerko -- with the crowd on its feet and chanting “Paul-ie! Paul-ie!” -- drilled a long fly ball that bounced off the warning track in right-center for his game-winner.

“Confidence is not an issue,” Scioscia said, when asked if the late losses were taking a mental toll on the Angels. “We’ve hit a little rut. We have to turn the page and move on.”

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first when Eckstein doubled and scored on Vladimir Guerrero’s single, and they made it 2-0 in the sixth when Guillen singled with one out, took second on a fly ball and scored on Molina’s double.

But Escobar, who blanked the White Sox on four hits through the first five innings, lost the lead in the sixth. Lee singled with one out and stole second, and Konerko drove a two-run home run to left through a stiff wind to tie the score, 2-2.

“We’re playing aggressive baseball, doing our best,” Guillen said. “We’re just not having any luck.”

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Scioscia said that Salmon, sidelined by an inflamed left knee, and Erstad, out because of a strained right hamstring, could begin minor league rehabilitation assignments in a week to 10 days.