Cabrera’s Hit in Ninth Is the Special of the Day

Mixed in with the usual Angel fare Monday -- a Vladimir Guerrero home run, a creditable Bartolo Colon start, a dominant Scot Shields relief appearance and some aggressive baserunning -- were two items that were almost foreign to the team’s menu the last two years.

First, there was a zesty relief dish served up by an honest-to-goodness left-hander, which the Angels haven’t had since 2003, and then there was a ninth-inning rally fueled by two table-setting walks, which the free-swinging Angels seemed to have an aversion to in 2004 and 2005.

The result was pleasing-to-the-palate, 5-4 season-opening victory over the Seattle Mariners in Safeco Field, the clutch relief effort provided by J.C. Romero, who bailed Colon out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the sixth, and the key hit provided by Orlando Cabrera, whose two-out, two-run single in the ninth broke a 3-3 tie.

The Angels are hardly known for their patience at the plate -- they finished last in the American League in walks in 2004 and 10th in 2005 -- but Cabrera wouldn’t have had anyone to drive in had new first baseman Casey Kotchman not outlasted left-hander George Sherrill during a nine-pitch at-bat that ended in a leadoff walk.

Kotchman took second on Jose Molina’s sacrifice bunt and third on pinch-hitter Tim Salmon’s groundout, and Chone Figgins fought back from an 0-and-2 count to draw a walk off hard-throwing right-hander J.J. Putz. Figgins, who led the major leagues with 62 stolen bases last season, swiped second to set the stage for Cabrera.

The Angel shortstop, who singled and scored in the first inning and singled again in the third, then grounded a Putz fastball into center field for a 5-3 lead.

“Kotchman had a great at-bat, and Figgy ... a 3-and-2 slider ... I don’t know,” Cabrera said, questioning Putz’s pitch selection. “I was just trying to put the ball in play. I’m not Vladdy.”

Cabrera’s hit left enough cushion for closer Francisco Rodriguez, who gave up a solo home run to Roberto Petagine in the bottom of the ninth before striking out Ichiro Suzuki and retiring Jose Lopez on a grounder to short to end the game.

Shields set up Rodriguez by retiring the four batters he faced in the seventh and eighth, but it was Romero, the veteran left-hander acquired from Minnesota in December for a Class-A infielder, who did the heavy lifting.

Romero, whose price tag dropped after he clashed with Twin Manager Ron Gardenhire, replaced the tiring Colon after Adrian Beltre reached on an error to open the sixth, Carl Everett singled and Kenji Johjima was hit by a pitch.

Romero blew a full-count fastball by Jeremy Reed for strike three and retired No. 9 hitter Yuniesky Betancourt on a fly to left that was too shallow for Beltre to tag. Suzuki then slapped a grounder to Figgins, who fielded the ball and stepped on the third base bag to end the inning.

“They say I thrive in those situations,” Romero said. “To a lot of people, it’s pressure; to me, it’s fun. I’m not saying it’s going to be a piece of cake every time, but things went my way today. It feels great.”

The Angels took a 2-0 lead in the first when Guerrero stroked a two-run homer to left, the second straight year he homered on his first swing of the season and the fifth opening-day homer of Guerrero’s career.

Darin Erstad’s double and Kotchman’s run-scoring single against Mariner starter Jamie Moyer made it 3-0 in the fourth, but Colon, who breezed through four innings, giving up only two infield singles, yielded three runs in the fifth, one on Johjima’s solo home run to right.

“I started elevating the ball, and when I missed high, they crushed me,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I can’t attribute it to anything. I wasn’t tired. The weather [game-time temperature: 53 degrees] didn’t bother me. I just didn’t execute pitches.”

Colon’s fastball hit 94 mph Monday, but the 2005 Cy Young Award winner admitted he’s still feeling a little tentative in his recovery from a slight shoulder tear that knocked him out of the playoffs in October.

“I still have a little fear sometimes of letting it go, but I did let loose a few times early in the game, and it was fine,” Colon said. “It’s going to take a few starts to realize that all of my hard work over the winter will pay off, and I’ll be fine.”