Coveted Hitter Stings Angels

Shea Hillenbrand had completed dismantling the Angels on Tuesday night, knocking in half of Toronto’s runs in an 8-0 victory in the Rogers Centre, when losing pitcher Paul Byrd affirmed why the Angels are interested in acquiring the Blue Jay first baseman before Sunday’s non-waiver trade deadline.

“He’s not underrated in pitchers’ eyes because he’s a clutch hitter,” Byrd said of Hillenbrand, whose three-run home run in the first inning and run-scoring single in the fourth provided more than enough offense for left-hander Gustavo Chacin, who shut out the Angels on six hits in eight innings. “He’d be a good pick-up for someone.”

Unfortunately for the Angels, Hillenbrand, who is batting .301 with 13 homers and 58 runs batted in, will probably be a good keeper for the Blue Jays, who weren’t expected to compete in the American League East but trail Boston by 4 1/2 games.

With ace Roy Halladay expected back from the disabled list soon and Chacin showing he’s a solid No. 2 -- Angel Manager Mike Scioscia compared the rookie to Fernando Valenzuela -- it’s highly doubtful the Blue Jays would part with their cleanup hitter.

Besides, with four days to go before the trade deadline, the Angels seem more focused on improving their pitching staff with a starter or reliever than adding a new designated hitter.

“You look at the critical area of any team in a pennant race, and you’re drawn to pitching,” Scioscia said. “There are some players out there who would improve any team. There’s no sense of urgency, but we’d like to establish more depth on the pitching side, whether it’s a bullpen guy or a starter.”

With Kelvim Escobar not expected back from elbow surgery until early September and Ervin Santana struggling to find consistency, the Angels are exploring ways to upgrade their rotation.

Among the starters they are believed to be considering are Pittsburgh right-hander Kip Wells and Cleveland right-hander Kevin Millwood, but with the Indians starting Tuesday 3 1/2 games out of the wild-card race, they are unlikely to deal Millwood. The Angels are considered long-shots for Florida right-hander A.J. Burnett.

Their pursuit of a reliever seems focused on left-handers, with Pittsburgh’s John Grabow, Cleveland’s Scott Sauerbeck, who has held left-handers to a .153 average, and Seattle’s Ron Villone among the possibilities. Colorado’s Brian Fuentes, whom the Angels like, has been told by Rockie executives he won’t be traded.

Two right-handed hitters who could be acquired are Colorado outfielder Eric Byrnes and Detroit outfielder Rondell White, who would be limited to designated hitter because of a shoulder injury. Kansas City slugger Mike Sweeney would come at a steep price.

Another potential roadblock to a deal: The two players opposing general managers seem to request the most are reliever Scott Shields and super utility player Chone Figgins, neither of whom the Angels are willing to trade.

Shields, the resilient and reliable set-up man, has been the Angels’ most valuable pitcher, and some have touted the versatile Figgins as the team’s most valuable position player, though he didn’t have an MVP night Tuesday.

After opening the game with a single and advancing on Darin Erstad’s walk, Figgins, who leads the team with 34 stolen bases, was picked off second before Chacin threw a pitch to No. 3 hitter Vladimir Guerrero.

Guerrero lined out to center, Garret Anderson grounded out, Hillenbrand smacked Byrd’s hanging slider for a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, and the Angels were essentially done.

“It was certainly a huge swing as far as our ability to score in the first inning -- we had the table set,” Scioscia said of Figgins’ pickoff. “But for the times Figgy might be caught, he’s creating tons more offense, so you’ve got to live with that.”

The usually dependable Byrd (9-7) was rocked for a season-high seven earned runs and 10 hits and did not look comfortable from the start, walking Russ Adams to open the first and giving up a single to Frank Catalanotto before Hillenbrand’s homer.

“I put us in a hole early,” Byrd said. “I feel like I dropped the ball today.”

Byrd would have needed to spin a shutout to stay even with Chacin, who kept the Angels off balance with a deceptive delivery, sneaky-fast fastball, cut-fastball and changeup. Chacin (10-5) retired 13 of 14 batters from the first to fifth innings.

“Anytime we had a count in our favor or a chance to do something, he made a good pitch,” Scioscia said. “He reminded me of [former Milwaukee Brewer] Teddy Higuera and a little bit of Fernando because of his arm angle, his ability to give a 90-mph fastball more life by riding it up in the zone, and his good command.”