Promising Start Fizzles at the Finish

An evening that began with so much promise Sunday, as rookie pitcher Seth Etherton provided the Angels with their first quality start since July 21, deteriorated to this: seldom-used reliever Derrick Turnbow mopping up for reliever Al Levine in the 10th inning.

That was how far the Angels fell and how quickly this game turned, as the Chicago White Sox scored nine runs in the final three innings for an 11-7 victory over the Angels before 27,513 at Edison Field, a stinging loss that dropped the Angels six games behind Seattle in the American League West.

Contributing to the ugliness were a season-high five Angel errors, including two by third baseman Troy Glaus, and closer Troy Percival’s eighth blown save, when he was torched for three runs in the top of the ninth.

Wasted was Etherton’s gritty 6 1/3-inning, two-run, nine-hit performance, a three-run seventh that was highlighted by Tim Salmon’s two-run triple to give the Angels a 6-2 lead, and Garret Anderson’s clutch sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth that sent the game into extra innings.

“This was a game we had control of, and we let it slip away,� Manager Mike Scioscia said. “That’s uncharacteristic of this club. We’ve closed out games. But when you give a club like the White Sox more than five extra outs, it’s hard to put them away.�

The White Sox finally did just that to the Angels in the 10th. Frank Thomas opened the inning with a broken-bat single to center off Levine and Magglio Ordonez’s chopper over the mound nicked the back of the second-base bag and skidded under shortstop Kevin Stocker’s glove for another hit.

Angel catcher Bengie Molina’s throw to third on Herbert Perry’s bunt was low and late, which allowed the White Sox to load the bases. Jeff Abbott lined a two-run single to right and took second on Salmon’s bobble. Carlos Lee then capped the rally with a two-run single to right for an 11-7 lead.

Percival couldn’t put the White Sox away despite a fastball that hit 98 mph. Abbott singled with one out in the ninth, Greg Norton walked with two outs, and Mark Johnson laced a double to right-center.

Abbott scored standing up, and Norton was waved home. Stocker, the Angel shortstop, could have nailed Norton with a good throw, but his one-hop relay skipped by Molina as Norton scored the tying run. Ray Durham then smoked another double to right-center for a 7-6 lead.

“I knew coming out of the bullpen I had no off-speed or breaking pitch, and I wasn’t locating my fastball,� said Percival, who was pitching in his third consecutive game. “I had plenty of juice, but I kept going to the same zone, away, away, away. This team thrives on that.�

The day began with the trade of pitcher Kent Bottenfield to Philadelphia for outfielder Ron Gant and some ominous words from Bottenfield, who praised the young pitchers’ work ethic and eagerness to learn but also questioned the wisdom of going into the teeth of a pennant race with four of them in the rotation.

“Unless you throw 98 mph with a nasty breaking pitch, there’s a learning curve in baseball,� Bottenfield said. “I just hope it doesn’t hit them in the next two months.�

It appeared to hit them last week, when Angel starters combined for a 10.07 earned-run average in eight games, but Etherton stayed ahead of the curve Sunday.

After giving up runs in the first and second, he blanked the White Sox through the sixth, escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fifth by striking out Durham and getting John Valentin to ground out.

Thomas doubled to open the seventh and took third on Ordonez’s fly to right, but Etherton got Perry to pop to shallow center and reliever Mike Holtz struck out Abbott to preserve a 3-2 lead.

“Seth held up his end of the bargain,� Scioscia said.

The rest of the Angels dropped theirs.