Percival Ready for Close-Up

If Troy Percival was jacked up to face his ex-teammates for the first time, it didn’t show Saturday night. The Detroit Tiger closer looked so calm, so relaxed, as he took the Angel Stadium mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, it was as if someone had replaced his nightly pot of coffee with decaf.

Percival, showing excellent command of a 91-mph fastball, mixing in a changeup or two and displaying a smooth, flawless delivery, gave up one hit, a single to Vladimir Guerrero, in a scoreless ninth inning to close out the Tigers’ 2-1 victory in front of an announced 43,876 in Angel Stadium.

Percival’s third save this season preserved the victory for starter Jeremy Bonderman, who gave up one run and four hits and struck out eight in eight sparkling innings to out-duel Bartolo Colon, who was hurt by a crucial balk call during a complete-game performance in which he gave up two runs and eight hits.

Percival, who saved 316 games during seasons with the Angels before signing a two-year, $12-million deal with Detroit last winter, got Chone Figgins to fly to right field on an 81-mph changeup to begin the ninth.

After Guerrero’s single, Garret Anderson flied to left on a first-pitch, 91-mph fastball. Steve Finley then popped to short on a 91-mph fastball, after which Percival, in a business-as-usual mode, barely pumped his fist in celebration.

“Did you see the World Series?” Percival said in response to a question about his composure. “I can focus. I can focus in any situation.”

Percival, who recorded the final three outs of the Angels’ World Series Game 7 victory over San Francisco on the same Angel Stadium mound in 2002, probably felt more emotion warming up in the bullpen and jogging to the mound, an entrance that was accompanied by a standing ovation.

“I didn’t notice the standing part, but I could definitely hear them,” Percival said. “I know they weren’t cheering for us to win. That was purely recognition for what I had done, and I appreciated it.”

Although he lacked his trademark 95-mph fastball, Percival dispatched the Angels rather easily, much as Bonderman did for most of the game.

Bonderman, who lost 19 games as an overmatched 20-year-old rookie in 2003, looked like a polished veteran Saturday, mixing a crisp fastball with a sharp-breaking slider and changeup while allowing only one Angel -- Dallas McPherson, who hit a third-inning home run -- past first base.

Colon, meanwhile, cruised through seven innings, needing only 75 pitches to blank the Tigers on five hits, a virtual carbon copy of his 7 1/3 -inning, two-hit shutout in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Minnesota.

But the luster on Colon’s gem wore off quickly in the eighth when Carlos Pena led off with a single to right and took second on Colon’s balk, a call made by first base umpire Derryl Cousins, who in the fifth inning ejected Tiger right fielder Craig Monroe and Manager Alan Trammell.

“He said he turned his shoulder,” said Scioscia, who disputed the call from the dugout. “Obviously, we didn’t see it from our side.”

Pena took third on Jason Smith’s sacrifice bunt and scored when No. 9 hitter Nook Logan singled to center, the first time this season the Tigers have rallied to tie a score after the seventh inning.

Detroit didn’t stop there. Brandon Inge grounded a hit-and-run single to right, advancing the speedy Logan to third, and Ivan Rodriguez lifted a fly ball to medium center, plenty deep to drive in Logan for a 2-1 Tiger lead.

“I don’t know what they saw, but I did not feel I balked,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I showed the same move three times after that and it was not called, so I don’t know what to say. It changed the complexion of the inning.”

Instead of a runner on first with no outs, Detroit had a runner on second with no outs, and the Tigers were able to rev up their small-ball game.

“That was the whole key to the game,” Angel catcher Jose Molina said of the balk. “To me, it was a bad call. I guess [Cousins] saw it different.”