Light-Hitting Trio Throws Switch for Angel Power Grid

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia plugged in his offense Saturday, and the ever-dependable, high-wattage flood lamps that are Darin Erstad and Mo Vaughn shorted out, the power-hitting pair combining for no hits in eight at-bats.

So it was left for a trio of flashlight-sized bulbs to illuminate the offense. Benji Gil, Matt Walbeck and Adam Kennedy, who combined for 14 home runs all season, put a charge into the Angels, each hitting a home run in a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox before 25,881 at Edison Field.

The Angels also got some power from a more traditional source--Troy Glaus hit his team-leading 31st home run in the second inning--but it was Kennedy’s homer that broke a 5-5 tie in the fifth and homers by Gil in the third and Walbeck in the fourth that helped the Angels rally from three-run deficits for their 26th come-from-behind victory.

“I think we owe them about 100 of these games for what they’ve done for us all year,” Kennedy said of Erstad and Vaughn. “That’s what you have to do to make the playoffs. You have to have guys come through at unexpected times. You can’t expect [Erstad and Vaughn] to do it all the time.”

The Angels overcame another shaky outing by a starting pitcher, this one by right-hander Kent Bottenfield, who gave up five runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. In the last eight games, the Angel rotation has combined for a 10.07 earned-run average, giving up 44 runs on 75 hits in 39 1/3 innings.

But after Kennedy’s homer against reliever Lorenzo Barcelo in the fifth, the Angel bullpen relay team of Al Levine, Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Troy Percival blanked Chicago over the final 3 1/3 innings, Percival earning his 25th save.

Hasegawa extended his scoreless streak to 19 1/3 innings, and the bullpen lowered its ERA to 2.11 (22 runs in 94 innings) in the last 26 games.

“I can’t say enough about guys like Levine, Hasegawa, [Mark] Petkovsek, [Mike] Holtz and [Mike] Fyhrie, they’ve been tremendous,” Scioscia said. “Any surge we’re going to make to get to the playoffs is due in large part to what they’ve done to this point and what they’ll do later this season.”

Angel playoff hopes also hinge on starting pitching, and the rotation must improve for the team to stay in the race. Bottenfield was one batter away from escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third when Paul Konerko followed Frank Thomas’ strikeout and Magglio Ordonez’s fly out with a three-run double, giving Chicago a 4-1 lead.

“That was a big blow, it really changed the momentum for me,” Bottenfield said. “It was time to realize I can’t quit. Five runs doesn’t look good, but I’m learning more in this league that it’s a matter of survival and coming out on top. It’s almost like pitching in Coors Field [in Denver]. You can give up a lot of runs and still win.”

Especially when you’re backed by an Angel offense that counterpunches like Ali. After Chicago’s rally in the third, Gil led off the bottom of the third with his fourth homer of the season, against White Sox starter Mark Buehrle.

Gil is a .226 hitter whose penchant for overswinging has produced twice as many strikeouts (46) as walks (23), but his homer came on a nice, smooth stroke.

“I’ve been trying to cut down my swing,” Gil said. “I have to get good pitches, so I’ve been trying to be more selective and get into good hitting counts.”

Mark Johnson’s double and Ray Durham’s RBI single in the top of the fourth gave the White Sox a 5-2 lead, but Walbeck sparked a three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth when the switch-hitter led off with his sixth homer of the season and second in only 20 at-bats from the right side.

“Man, I don’t think I’ve ever hit two homers from the right side in one season,” said Walbeck, who matched his career high for homers in a season. “In Texas [Wednesday night], I was completely lost hitting right-handed. But Mickey [Hatcher, batting instructor] worked with me off the tee the last few days, and the preparation paid off.”

After Walbeck’s homer, Gil singled with one out, and Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson each smacked two-out RBI doubles, tying the score, 5-5. Kennedy’s seventh homer of the season made the score 6-5 in the fifth.

“Those are three of the guys you expect to play Little Ball with, and they end up blasting the ball out of the park,” Scioscia said of Gil, Walbeck and Kennedy. “We’ll take it. That takes the pressure off Mo and Ersty. No one guy is going to carry this club for us.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Angel Power

Troy Glaus and Garret Anderson are making a run at the Angel home-run record. All-time leaders for a season:

*--*

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

*--*