Angel Rookie Knocks Sox Off

The kid stays in the picture.

Stuck in a three-for-19 rut, his average down to .211, and with speculation about a possible demotion to triple-A Salt Lake hanging over his head, rookie Dallas McPherson unleashed several weeks of frustration on one Jose Contreras fastball in the seventh inning Thursday night, blasting a two-run home run to center field to lift the Angels to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

The 24-year-old third baseman, who struck out on changeups in each of his first two at-bats against the Cuban right-hander, energized an announced crowd of 39,128 in Angel Stadium and provided a brief respite from a team-wide batting slump with his second home run of the season, which came on a first-pitch, knee-high fastball.

Right-hander John Lackey allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings to gain the win, improving to 5-2, and Scot Shields, after striking out Carl Everett on a full-count slider with two on to end the eighth, retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save, and the Angels remained tied with Texas atop the American League West.

“One of the toughest things to do is to turn the page from at-bat to at-bat, from game to game,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s especially tough for a young player with the expectations Dallas has. He’s trying to show he belongs, and that frustration can mount. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.”

Coming to the big leagues with a can’t-miss label and a resume that included 40 minor league home runs and 126 runs batted in last season would create enough expectations for a young player.

Add the fact that McPherson replaced popular slugger Troy Glaus and those expectations can become a considerable burden.

“But I haven’t been putting pressure on myself,” said McPherson, whose strikeouts (33) outnumber his hits (21) this season. “I haven’t gotten results, but I’m doing what I need to do to get better. We’ve been struggling as a team, but hitting is contagious. Hopefully we can get on a streak.”

With the Angels batting a major league-worst .230 in May and scoring 12 runs in their previous five games, Scioscia threw his hitters a little changeup, canceling early work and batting practice Thursday.

“The guys have been really pounding hard, trying to find their swings,” Scioscia said.

McPherson, Scioscia said, was one of the players who prompted the move.

“He wants to achieve, and he’s working hard -- that’s why he’s going to be a good player,” Scioscia said. “But sometimes you want to back off a bit.”

The Angels didn’t exactly break out of their funk Thursday night, managing only five hits, but several were well-timed. Chone Figgins ripped Conteras’ first pitch of the game for a triple to right and scored on Darin Erstad’s groundout.

The White Sox tied it, 1-1, on Scott Podsednik’s double and Tadahito Iguchi’s RBI single in the fourth, but the Angels caught a break when a passed ball caromed hard off the backstop, enabling catcher Bengie Molina to quickly retrieve it and flip to Lackey to nail Iguchi at the plate. Lackey struck out Jermaine Dye with the bases loaded to end the fourth.

Shortstop Orlando Cabrera snared Carl Everett’s hot one-hop smash toward the middle and threw to first to end the sixth with runners on first and third, but Chicago broke the tie on Pablo Ozuna’s single, stolen base and Podsednik’s run-scoring single in the top of the seventh.

The Angels countered in the bottom of the seventh, which began with Garret Anderson’s single. Jeff DaVanon bunted Anderson to second, and Bengie Molina grounded to short.

White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen had left-hander Neal Cotts warm in the bullpen, but after a visit to the mound, he stuck with Contreras. One pitch later, the Angels had the lead and were on their way to a victory that earned a split in the four-game series against the team with baseball’s best record.

“It’s good to win a game,” McPherson said, “no matter how we did it or who did it.”

*

ANGELS TONIGHT

ANGELS’

PAUL BYRD

vs.

ROYALS’

D.J. CARRASCO

*--* THE MATCHUP 2005 2004 VS OPP TEAMS/PITCHERS W-L ERA TEAM W-L IP ERA Kansas City/Carrasco (R) 0-1 5.40 0-2 0-0 2.2 0.00 ANGELS/Byrd (R) 4-4 4.19 5-4 -- -- --

*--*

Angel Stadium, 7

TV -- FSN West. Radio -- 710, 1020.

Update -- Byrd will get another crack at his old team, which he lost to in his first start as an Angel on April 8, giving up six runs, four earned, and nine hits in seven innings. Byrd has strung together five consecutive quality starts, going six innings or more and giving up three earned runs or fewer. Carrasco will be making his fifth big league start for the Royals.

Tickets -- (714) 663-9000.

-- Mike DiGiovanna