Angels Can Take Heat, Dish It Out

What do Anaheim Stadium and Denver’s Coors Field have in common? Well, not a lot, unless it’s 91 degrees at game time in Anaheim, as it was Tuesday night.

Who needs altitude when you’ve got a stadium full of hot air? Broken-bat fly balls were carrying to the warning track, well-struck fly balls were sailing over the fence and earned-run averages were soon bloating in the heat.

But while Milwaukee was playing long ball--the Brewers hit three home runs--the Angels were using their medium-range attack, concentrating on line drives into the right-field corner en route to a 6-5 victory in front of 20,268. The win kept the Angels .002 behind Seattle for first place in the American League West.

“It wasn’t pretty, but this time of year you don’t care what they look like as long as you can put them in the win column,” Manager Terry Collins said. “We got a couple of big hits and that was the difference.”

Tony Phillips and Darin Erstad set the tone in the first inning with a double and triple, respectively, both shots just inside the first-base bag on their way down the line. Both players came around to score.

Dave Hollins’ fifth-inning double into the right-field corner resulted in his second and third RBIs of the game. He scored the Angels’ fifth run when Tim Salmon followed with a single.

The Brewers had 11 hits--six for extra bases but they didn’t bunch them as well as the Angels and all of their homers were solo shots. First baseman Dave Nilsson hit his 19th and 20th home runs of the season and Jeromy Burnitz hit his 22nd. The Angels prevailed, however, by scoring the winning run on an infield single, two walks and a sacrifice fly.

Angel starter Jason Dickson, who had given up more than two home runs in a game only once this season, watched three baseballs go over the fence in only 5 1/3 innings. It was his second consecutive un-Dickson-like performance of the season, having suffered through his worst outing in the majors Thursday, an eight-run, 1 2/3-inning debacle against Chicago. Still, he picked up the victory and improved his record to 11-4.

“It wasn’t my best, well, it wasn’t even mediocre,” Dickson said, “but we got the win so I’ll take it. As many mistakes as I made up in the strike zone, and the way the ball was carrying, I was really lucky to just give up three homers.”

Dickson didn’t walk more than three batters in any of his first 22 starts, but he walked four White Sox batters Thursday and continued his wild ways Tuesday.

“That seems to be a pretty good indication of when I’m scuffling, when I’m walking guys,” said Dickson, whose obscenity when he walked Burnitz leading off the second was audible all the way up to the press box.

Dickson walked No. 8 hitter Jesse Levis leading off the third inning and then hit Mike Matheny square in the back. Fernando Vina sacrificed and Levis scored on Jose Valentin’s line-out to right. The Brewers tied the game, 2-2, in the fourth when Nilsson lifted a shot over the wall in dead center.

Milwaukee right-hander Bryce Florie, who has made 134 major league relief appearances but was making only fourth career start, retired 10 in a row until the top of the Angel order stung him again in the fifth. Phillips singled to right, Erstad lined a shot off Florie’s glove for a single, and Hollins followed with his double.

“I felt like I had really good stuff, but they hit some good pitches,” Florie said. “That ball Hollins hit in the fifth was the only change-up I threw all night.

Nilsson hit his second homer of the game leading off the sixth and Burnitz followed with his fifth in as many games. “I’m making good contact,” Burnitz said, “once a night.”

Dickson gave up a single to Gerald Williams one out later and Collins called in reliever Pep Harris, who retired the side.

Milwaukee had two runners on with two out in the eighth when Collins brought in closer Troy Percival. Percival got pinch-hitter Jeff Huson to ground out and worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 17th save.

“Now we’ve got to get some sleep and get back after it for a day game ,” Collins said, wearily. “And it’s going to be a warm one.”