BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Boskie Faces Another Pressure Start

Shawn Boskie pitched in Baltimore the night Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record on Sept. 6. He started the first of a crucial two-game series at Seattle on Monday. Biggest Game of My Life III is tonight, when the right-hander starts against the Oakland Athletics in a game the Angels need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

“I really enjoy these situations,� said Boskie, 7-7 with a 5.48 earned-run average this season. “I’m nervous but in a good way. It doesn’t paralyze me.

“Pressure is how you perceive things around you, and if you perceive it as a life-and-death situation it can be debilitating. If you perceive it as a challenge, it can be fun.�

Boskie hasn’t had much fun in these pressure situations. He gave up three solo home runs in five innings in a 4-2 loss to the Orioles, and three runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings in a 10-2 loss to the Mariners Monday. He’s 1-5 with a 7.48 ERA this month and a career 2-11 with a 7.57 ERA in September.

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First, pitcher Mark Langston lost a front tooth while chewing gum in Seattle’s Kingdome on Wednesday. Now, reliever Troy Percival has come down with a mysterious malady. In layman’s terms, “My jaw is out of whack,� Percival said.

“My doctor said it’s probably from grinding my teeth in my sleep,� Percival said. “Every time I pitch I have a big pain in my ear. It hurts when I eat. That’s why I’m a miserable person right now . . . but my arm’s fine.�

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Funeral services for William Lachemann, the father of Manager Marcel Lachemann and bullpen coach Bill Lachemann, will be held today at 11 a.m. at Inglewood Cemetery and Mortuary, which is located across from the Great Western Forum.

Lachemann was 95. In lieu of flowers, the Lachemann family has requested that any donations be made to Children’s Hospital of Orange County.