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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Seth Etherton, a 23-year-old rookie, has
emerged as one of the most consistent pitchers in the Anaheim
Angels' rotation.
Etherton won his fifth straight start and Scott Spiezio homered
Thursday night in a 6-1 victory over the Texas Rangers that included a scary moment in the first inning when Mo Vaughn was beaned in the
head by a pitch from Darren Oliver.
Vaughn, who was struck flush on the front of the helmet by the
left-hander's 88-mph fastball, hit the ground and was woozy for a few
anxious moments.
"I've been drilled before. I've been hit by Randy Johnson. It's
no big deal," Vaughn said. "I played nine innings. I've known
Darren for a long time, and I know he didn't do it intentionally."
Oliver, activated earlier in the day after spending a month on
the disabled list with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder,
sprinted toward the plate to make sure Vaughn wasn't badly injured.
Catcher Ivan Rodriguez bent over to comfort Vaughn until trainer
Rick Smith arrived -- along with a frantic Mike Scioscia.
"I think they were both shaken up," Angels' manager Scioscia
said. "Obviously, it wasn't intentional. It's part of baseball.
But the overriding factor is, when you pitch inside, you have to
have command. And that one got away from him a little bit.
"That's a sound you recognize anywhere. We knew it didn't hit
anything but his helmet," Scioscia added. "Thank God that it got
him where he was protected. You don't like to see anyone get hit
like that."
Vaughn, whose 1999 season was interrupted by a sprained ankle
and a stapf infection, was intent on staying in the game. Vaughn
drew walks each of his next four times up, tying a club record.
"Mo said right away, `I'm all right, I'm all right,' " Scioscia
said. "I think Rick was a little concerned about him trying to get
back up too quickly. It just shows what Mo is made of. Even his
next times up, he didn't give an inch and drew some walks. Mo's not
going to scare off."
Etherton (5-1) gave up a run and six hits in 7 1/3 innings. The
right-hander struck out two and issued both of his walks in the
eighth inning while pitching through the seventh for the first time
in eight major league starts.
"I made the pitches when I needed to. That's been the key to my
success so far this year," Etherton said.
Shigetoshi Hasegawa relieved in the eighth and retired Rafael
Palmeiro on an inning-ending double play.
The Angels added to their lead in the bottom of the inning with
two runs on a sacrifice fly by Orlando Palmeiro and a throwing
error by third baseman Mike Lamb.
Anaheim built a 4-0 lead in the first four innings against
Oliver (2-5), who gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings
-- including Spiezio's solo shot, his ninth homer.
"I kept us in the ballgame, but obviously I could have done
better and gotten deeper into the game," Oliver said. "I felt all
right, but it wouldn't have mattered what I did because Etherton
threw a great ballgame."
Darin Erstad, who recorded his 52nd multi-hit game, led off the
third with a double and scored Anaheim's second run on a single by
Troy Glaus. Erstad leads the majors with 157 hits, nine more than
he had last season in 585 at-bats. He also had an RBI single in the
fourth.
Game notes
Angels pitcher Kent Mercker has been giving clubhouse
attendant Jimmy Brewer a lot of good-natured ribbing since he
learned that Brewer attended Mercker's 1994 no-hitter at Dodger
Stadium as an 18-year-old and left in the eighth inning to beat the
traffic. ... Angels CF Garret Anderson was scratched from the
starting lineup because of a mild strain in his left Achilles. He
hurt it running the bases the night before. Anderson pinch-hit in
the eighth and struck out.
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Baseball Scoreboard
Texas Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
Detroit 5
NY Yankees 3
Minnesota 5
Chi. White Sox 1
Boston 11
Baltimore 7
Baltimore 9
Boston 4
(2nd game)
Oakland 5
Seattle 4
Kansas City 10
Cleveland 6
Toronto 6
Tampa Bay 5
Anaheim 6
Texas 1
Montreal 4
NY Mets 1
Pittsburgh 9
Milwaukee 2
Philadelphia 3
Chicago Cubs 2
Atlanta 5
Florida 3
Florida 6
Atlanta 1
(2nd game)
Arizona 3
St. Louis 2
San Francisco 7
San Diego 3
Houston 6
Cincinnati 2
Los Angeles 6
Colorado 3
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