Cooper Keeps Things Fresh

SAN DIEGO —  General Manager Bill Stoneman has shown little or no inclination toward dealing for a veteran pitcher before the July 31 trading deadline, so it appears the Angels will stick with Ken Hill, Kent Bottenfield and the stable of youngsters who have helped keep them in the race so far.

And is that such a bad thing?

Brian Cooper continued to show that youth is not always wasted on the young, limiting San Diego to two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings Monday night to lead the Angels to a 3-2 interleague victory over the Padres before 19,930 at Qualcomm Stadium.

Sizzling left fielder Darin Erstad, who is 23 for 48 with 10 RBIs in his last 11 games, and Mo Vaughn each doubled to score a run in the first, and Matt Walbeck’s two-run homer off Padre starter Matt Clement in the fourth provided the offense for the Angels.

Mark Petkovsek, Mike Holtz, Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Troy Percival (22nd save) combined for 2 2/3 perfect relief innings, as the Angels pulled to within four games of Seattle in the American League West.

Cooper, Jarrod Washburn, Seth Etherton and Scott Schoeneweis entered 2000 with 26 big league starts between them, and many predicted doom if the Angels had to lean heavily on them. But in 43 starts this season, the four have combined to go 18-11 with a 4.46 earned-run average.

“It’s a great feeling for all of us to be up at the same time, doing well and helping the team stay in the race,” said Cooper, who walked four and struck out three. “We’re all pulling for each other. We’re all friends. It’s like a storybook we’re going through right now.”

Cooper gave up a run in the first when Al Martin tripled and scored on Ryan Klesko’s single to left. Phil Nevin grounded out, and Bret Boone walked, but Cooper escaped more damage by retiring Wiki Gonzalez on a fly ball.

Cooper retired 14 of the next 15 batters before Klesko doubled with one out in the sixth and scored on Nevin’s single, pulling the Padres to within 3-2. But after falling behind Boone, 3-0, Cooper got Boone to fly to right on a full-count pitch and Gonzalez to ground to third, ending the threat.

Manager Mike Scioscia replaced Cooper when he walked Kevin Nicholson and Dave Magadan with one out in the seventh. Much like Cooper in the first and sixth innings, relievers Petkovsek, who got Eric Owens to line to third, and Holtz, who got Joe Vitiello to ground out, did not flinch.

Holtz and Hasegawa combined to strike out the side in the eighth, and Percival, who blew a save Sunday, retired the side in order in the ninth.

“Cooper has an idea of what he wants to do on the mound, and he’s fearless,” Scioscia said. “You talk about a lack of major league experience, but when you show that kind of makeup and command, they’re ready for the challenge.”

The question is, how will these young pitchers respond in August and September, in the heat of their first pennant race, when every game, every start, every inning and every pitch is even more magnified?

“Hey, you never know how a veteran pitcher is going to react in those situations,” Scioscia said. “You can’t say he’s going to pitch a great game just because he’s been there before. There are no slam dunks in this game.

“The fact that these youngsters have already handled themselves in a lot of important games, the poise they’ve shown, gives us a lot of confidence that they’ll be able to handle it.”

Scioscia believes the mental approach he and pitching Coach Bud Black have drilled into pitchers all season--to focus exclusively on the execution of pitches and to block out everything else--will guide Cooper, Washburn, Etherton and Schoeneweis throughout the summer.

“That’s the most important part of their job, whether you’re pitching Game 7 of the World Series or a spring-training exhibition game,” Scioscia said. “That system will prove to be an advantage to these guys, and it should relieve pressure on them.

“That approach was pounded into me when I was a catcher. It’s tunnel vision. You commit mentally to a pitch. You can’t be unsure of what you’re throwing. And then you execute that pitch. You don’t think, ‘There are runners on second and third, how am I going to get out of this?’ You go pitch by pitch until you see the light at the end of the tunnel and get out of the inning.”

Cooper has taken the advice to heart.

“You can’t be out there second-guessing yourself or nibbling,” he said. “You’ve got to decide on a pitch, know it’s the right pitch and let it happen. That approach has made me more confident.”

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ALMANAC

Through Monday

Angel record:

overall 50-43

in home games 30-21

in road games 20-22

vs. AL East 15-16

vs. AL Central 15-10

vs. AL West 9-11

vs. National League 11-6

vs. left-handed starter 10-13

vs. right-handed starter 40-30

on grass 44-36

in night games 38-32

in one-run games 18-15

in extra inning games 5-5