Angels Bring the Best Out in the Royals

ANAHEIM — It’s one thing when Mark McGwire takes you deep, as the Oakland Athletics slugger did twice against Angel knuckleballer Dennis Springer last week.

But when Mike Macfarlane and Tom Goodwin, who had combined for one home run this season, knock your pitches over the fence, as they did in the Kansas City Royals’ 5-2 victory over the Angels before 14,492 in Anaheim Stadium on Tuesday night, it might be cause for concern.

Next to rookie pitcher Jason Dickson, Springer has been one of the Angels’ most pleasant surprises this season--the right-hander won three consecutive decisions from May 14-23 to help Manager Terry Collins solidify his tattered rotation.

But Springer gave up six runs on nine hits, including three homers, in a no-decision against Oakland last Wednesday, and Tuesday night he was roughed up for five runs on eight hits in seven innings, his record falling to 3-2 and his earned-run average jumping from 4.78 to 5.51 in two starts.

Highlighting the Royal attack were seventh-inning homers by Macfarlane, a No. 9 hitter who had homered once this season, and Goodwin, the slap-hitting center fielder who hadn’t homered since May 1, 1996, and has all of six homers in 1,293 career at-bats spanning 434 games.

“I felt good but I just made a couple of bad pitches at bad times,” Springer said. “The one to Macfarlane was a 3-1 fastball that was supposed to be outside and I put it over the middle of the plate. Goodwin’s was a knuckler that just hung up there, and he got it.”

The Angels got little off Royal right-hander Tim Belcher, who gave up only two runs on six hits in eight innings to gain the victory, improving to 6-6. Hipolito Pichardo pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.

Belcher had given up 20 runs on 36 hits in 19 2/3 innings in his last three starts, losses to Detroit, Seattle and Cleveland that raised his ERA from 1.72 to 3.50. But the Angels reached second only once Tuesday before Jim Edmonds’ solo home run in the seventh, which cut the Royal lead to 5-1.

Tony Phillips and Darin Erstad hit back-to-back doubles with one out in the eighth as the Angels pulled to within 5-2, but Belcher escaped further damage by striking out Dave Hollins and retiring Edmonds on a fly ball.

“I thought Dennis pitched all right, but if you’re asking a guy to pitch a shutout, you’re in the wrong league,” Collins said.

The Royals scored three runs during a fifth-inning rally in which one ball was hit hard, Craig Paquette’s single that followed Jeff King’s one-out walk. Macfarlane then made like a statue, not even budging as a Springer knuckleball floated toward his shoulder and hit the Royal catcher to load the bases.

Jose Offerman hit a slow roller to second, the fielder’s choice enabling King to score Kansas City’s first run, and after Offerman stole second, Goodwin, who was four for four, dropped a soft liner into left-center field for a two-run double and a 3-0 lead.

One bright spot for the Angels: They came out of the game with their middle infield intact. With Macfarlane on first and one out in the third inning, Offerman hit a grounder a few feet to the right of the second-base bag.

Angel second baseman Luis Alicea and shortstop Gary DiSarcina converged on the ball, and as Alicea made a backhand grab, DiSarcina leaped in an effort to avoid a collision.

But the two wound up in a Wrestlemania-like scene, with Alicea arching upward and flipping DiSarcina over his shoulders. Alicea recovered in time to tag second with his glove hand just before Macfarlane’s slide, and DiSarcina escaped unscathed.