Major Step Forward for Mercker, Angels

Kent Mercker did not get the win Saturday night, but his team did. He did not pitch all that well, but the fact he was pitching at all was considered a major victory, one that made the Angels’ 9-6 victory over the New York Yankees before a sellout crowd of 43,394 in Edison Field all the more sweet.

Troy Glaus hit his first career grand slam in the second and homered in the fifth, his 34 homers moving him into a tie for the American League lead with Chicago’s Frank Thomas and Toronto’s Tony Batista, and Garret Anderson had a triple-double--three doubles, that is--to back Mercker, who wobbled Saturday night but did not fall down.

The last time Mercker started for the Angels, on May 11, he suffered a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage, which sent him the UCI Medical Center for 12 days, four in the intensive care unit.

Three months later, after numerous bullpen workouts and simulated games, a minor league rehabilitation start, and dozens of questions about his death-defying incident, Mercker returned to the Edison Field mound Saturday night, finding refuge from the recent barrage of inquiries about his comeback.

A safe haven, it wasn’t. Mercker gave up three runs on five hits, two of them homers, and needed major contributions from his bullpen and defense to escape defeat.

“I was too amped, I had too much energy,” Mercker said. “I went three months without pitching and tried to pack it all in one night, and that got me in trouble. But that’s no excuse for pitching poorly.”

Still, talking about the solo homers Glenallen Hill (second inning) and Scott Brosius (third) hit off him, and his battle against fatigue and struggle to throw strikes in the third and fourth beat the alternative: answering questions about the health of his brain.

“No offense to anyone, but I hope I don’t have to talk about that again,” Mercker said. “It’s nice to be talking about how bad I was. I know it sounds crazy, but this feels great.”

Though Mercker was not impressed with his performance, he did escape major damage in the third, when he got Paul O’Neill on a grounder back to the mound and Bernie Williams on a grounder to short with two on to end the inning.

And with the bases loaded and none out in the fourth, he retired Brosius on a fly to shallow right, with Tim Salmon making a nice running/sliding catch, and Luis Sojo on an infield popup before being replaced by Lou Pote.

Derek Jeter singled to right for a run, but Salmon, who departed in the fifth because of a tight left groin, threw out Hill at the plate to end the inning and preserve a 6-3 lead.

“Kent’s velocity was good and he threw some good changeups and sliders,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Obviously his command wasn’t where it will be, but for a guy who has been through what he has to work out of those jams. . . . He kept battling.”

The Angels staked Mercker to a a huge lead with six runs in the bottom of the second, a rally off Yankee starter Denny Neagle that was highlighted by Glaus’ grand slam.

Anderson opened the inning with a double to right-center and took third on Bengie Molina’s single to center. Adam Kennedy walked to load the bases, and Benji Gil walked to force in a run for a 1-1 tie.

Darin Erstad popped to third for the first out, but Glaus, moved to the second spot in a lineup shuffle designed to be more effective against left-handed pitching, belted a 1-1 pitch an estimated 420 feet over the wall in left-center to put the Angels in front, 5-1.

Salmon grounded out, but Mo Vaughn, who was batting .197 with three homers and 12 runs batted in against lefties after his first-inning fly out, hammered a 0-2 Neagle offering deep into the right-field seats, an estimated 425 feet, for his 28th homer of the season and a 6-1 lead.

The Yankees pulled to within 6-3 with runs in the third and fourth, but the Angels widened their lead to 9-3 in the fourth with a three-run rally that featured Glaus’ homer to straight-away center and Anderson’s bloop two-run double to left off reliever Doc Gooden.

Jeter’s two-run double in the seventh, a liner that Erstad appeared to lose in the lights and let get over his head in left, and Canseco’s homer off reliever Mike Holtz in the eighth pulled New York to within 9-6.

But Shigetoshi Hasegawa pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his fifth save, closing out the victory.

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Angel Power

Troy Glaus hit his 34th home run on Saturday, moving him closer to the Angel single-season record.

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HR Player Year 39 Reggie Jackson 1982 37 Leon Wagner 1962 Bobby Bonds 1977 36 Don Baylor 1979 34 Don Baylor 1978 Wally Joyner 1987 Tim Salmon 1995* Troy Glaus 2000 33 Jim Edmonds 1995* Tim Salmon 1997 Mo Vaughn 1999 31 Tim Salmon 1993 30 Frank Robinson 1973 Bobby Grich 1979 Doug DeCinces 1982 Tim Salmon 1996 Garret Anderson 2000

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* work stoppage