Saunders Is Yankee-Clipped

The Angels have no choice. They have to hand the ball to a rookie pitcher twice every five days and hope that his workload does not catch up to him.

This is not the preferred way for the Angels to play from behind in the American League West, but it’s the only way. They have run out of insurance arms. Joe Saunders has another six starts, and so does Jered Weaver.

If they’re tired in October, the Angels can work around that. If they’re tired in September, the Angels won’t have October to worry about.

September is four days away, and Saunders appeared far from ready Sunday. The New York Yankees dismissed him in the third inning, after routing him for eight runs, then held on tight for an 11-8 victory at Angel Stadium.

Bernie Williams hit two home runs and drove in six runs, Derek Jeter hit two homers and drove in three, and still the Angels were not subdued. In the third inning, the Yankees led, 8-0. In the eighth, they needed closer extraordinaire Mariano Rivera, who got six outs so the Yankees could escape with one victory in the three-game series.

“Anaheim? They’re a pain,” Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon said.

And so the Angels flew to Seattle, with mostly good vibes and one nagging worry. The Angels wrapped a 7-3 homestand by battering New York pitching for 26 runs and 43 hits, and yet the poor performance of Saunders was the story Sunday.

He faced 16 batters. He got six out, walked three, and gave up seven hits, including three home runs. In his other six major league starts this season, covering 35 innings, Saunders gave up two homers.

For the second time in three starts, he failed to survive the third inning.

“The only adjustment I need to make is to throw more strikes,” Saunders said. “Physically, I feel fine.”

That’s the concern -- not that he might be injured, but that he and Weaver might simply be tired, from pitching more innings than either has before.

Saunders, 25, has pitched 173 innings. He pitched 170 last year, his first full season in the minor leagues. He sat out part of the 2004 season and all of the 2003 season while rehabilitating a torn rotator cuff.

Weaver, 23, has pitched 161 innings. He pitched 76 last season, his first in the minor leagues after a year-long holdout, and he sat out a start in July because of tendinitis in his pitching arm.

“I’ve had that before,” Weaver said. “I feel like I’ve gotten stronger the last two or three starts. Obviously, I’m in uncharted waters, but we’re staying on top of things so I’ll be good for the long haul.”

Bartolo Colon’s season-ending rotator cuff injury and Jeff Weaver’s exile have sapped the Angels of the last of their ready-for-prime-time depth. With triple-A starters Dustin Moseley and Steven Shell and long relievers Kevin Gregg and Hector Carrasco as less-than-compelling options to replace an injured or ineffective starter, the Angels are keeping their fingers crossed for Saunders and Jered Weaver.

“Those guys are our guys,” pitching coach Bud Black said. “I’ll take them, mentally and physically. They’ve both had great years,” citing their 29-8 record between the majors and minors.

Black said the coaching and training staff consults regularly with Saunders and Weaver, monitoring for signs of fatigue. Manager Mike Scioscia said each could skip a start if needed. As a precautionary measure, the Angels have cut down on their throwing and running between starts, Black said.

“We want to make sure that, every fifth day, they’re as fresh as they can be,” Black said.

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High-flying

Best records in baseball since July 1:

*--* ANGELS 34-17 667 Minnesota Twins 33-17 660 New York Mets 32-17 653 Oakland Athletics 32-18 640 New York Yankees 31-20 608

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Source: Angels