| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME LOG
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Not even Alan Embree's best pitch on his best night had a chance against Darin Erstad.
"He beat me on a pitch I would make again. That's probably the
best stuff I had all season, but everything must look like a
watermelon to him now," Embree said after Erstad's tie-breaking
single with two outs in the eighth gave the Anaheim Angels a 10-9
victory over San Francisco on Wednesday night.
Erstad lined Embree's down-and-away two-seam fastball to the
opposite field, scoring Bengie Molina from second base with his
fifth RBI of the night.
He already had a pair of two-run homers, and his 3-for-5 effort
capped a six-game homestand during which he went 15-for-28 to raise
his league-leading average to .388.
"You work hard to put yourself in a position to get the job
done," Erstad said. "Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it
doesn't. For whatever reason, it's happening for us now."
With Molina, Anaheim's catcher, running from second, left
fielder Barry Bonds aggressively charged Erstad's hit. But he
failed to make a clean pickup, as the ball squirted under Bonds'
glove and behind him.
"Molina's not the fleetest of foot, and I knew there was going
to be a play at the plate," Erstad said. "Until I saw him misplay
it. Those things happen."
"If he gets that ball, with the catcher running, he's got a
hell of a shot of throwing him out," said Giants manager Dusty
Baker, who seemed worn out by San Francisco's ninth loss in its
last 10 one-run games.
The defeat kept Baker one victory short of matching Roger
Craig's San Francisco record of 586 wins.
"I can't remember ever going through such a stretch," Baker
said. "We're playing good, and we're close to being excellent."
The Giants had enough to come back from deficits of 4-0 and 9-4,
but not enough to finish it.
Erstad broke a 4-all tie in the fifth with a two-run homer off
Russ Ortiz, then connected for another two-run shot that capped a
three-run sixth and put the Angels ahead 9-4. It was his first
multihomer game this season, third of his career.
Kent Bottenfield allowed seven hits and four walks in six
innings, leaving with a 9-4 lead. Jeff Kent and Armando Rios hit
two-run homers in the seventh off Al Levine. Kent's homer was his
17th.
J.T. Snow's second RBI single tied it against Shigetoshi
Hasegawa (5-1) in the eighth. Snow has 57 RBI in interleague play,
most in the majors. Ken Griffey Jr. is next with 48.
Molina and Edgard Clemente then singled in the bottom half off
Embree (0-2), setting up Erstad's hit.
Hasegawa mowed down the Giants with a 1-2-3 ninth as Anaheim
closer Troy Percival took the night off after pitching the previous
three nights.
"We got the big closer here, and I like my job," said
Hasegawa, normally Anaheim's setup man. "When I can help him out,
I do it."
Ortiz, who has one win in his last eight starts, gave up eight
runs and nine hits in five-plus innings.
Anaheim went ahead 4-0 in the first on Mo Vaughn's RBI single
and Troy Glaus' 17th homer, a three-run shot.
San Francisco tied it in the third on Rich Aurilia's two-run
homer, Kent's sacrifice fly and Snow's RBI single.
Game notes
Ortiz has allowed 17 homers, including two or more in seven
of 12 starts. ... Top Anaheim reserve outfielder Orlando Palmeiro
went 2-for-2 in a rare start and has hit in 13 of 14 starts (.354).
... Both of Erstad's homers were caught by the same fan in the
center-field pavilion, Tony Montes. ... The Giants are 4-14 in
one-run games, the Angels 14-9. ...The three-game interleague
series drew only 60,538. ... Giants OF Ellis Burks was 0-for-15 in
the series.
| |
ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
Chi. White Sox 6
Cincinnati 4
Los Angeles 11
Texas 6
Oakland 10
San Diego 4
Florida 6
Boston 2
NY Yankees 7
Montreal 2
Pittsburgh 4
Detroit 3
St. Louis 4
Kansas City 2
NY Mets 11
Baltimore 3
Philadelphia 5
Tampa Bay 4
Toronto 12
Atlanta 8
Minnesota 2
Houston 0
Cleveland 9
Milwaukee 5
Anaheim 10
San Francisco 9
Colorado 6
Seattle 1
Chicago Cubs 9
Arizona 4
|