Go-Go Offense Is a Win-Win for Angels

It’s the eighth inning Sunday afternoon, and Garret Anderson RBIs Nos. 999 and 1,000 are turning the corner at third base, a stride and a half apart, close enough to feel each other’s footsteps.

And all I could think was, this is the Angel offense.

Anderson off the wall.

Outfielder in a heap on the warning track.

Another win charging home, two by two, pitcher rushing to back up a base, opposing infielders aligning for a relay to the plate, third base coach sending, sending, sending.

Darin Erstad, shoulders bunched at his ears, elbows out, knees high. Vladimir Guerrero, pelted by pieces of infield thrown from Erstad’s spikes, covering ground in 10-foot chunks, near enough to catch a reflection from the helmet ahead.

The Angels, 11th in on-base percentage, 10th in slugging, 13th in walks, first in the American League West; Erstad standing up, Guerrero by the seat of his polyesters.

They win with pitching, some of the best in the game; they catch the baseball; and they push the offense around. A couple home runs Friday night, four mostly goofy hits Saturday night and two signature at-bats by Anderson on Sunday afternoon, a two-out single early and a two-run double late.

Three wins over the Dodgers later -- and six wins in a row, and eight of nine -- they are 6 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Texas Rangers, whom they play the next four days. At this rate, Mike Scioscia will set his postseason rotation by Friday.

They don’t always hit a lot. They hardly ever homer a lot. But they amass enough good at-bats over an afternoon to finish with 10 hits. And when the pivotal pitch arrives in the eighth inning -- this time delivered by Duaner Sanchez -- more often than not the Angel standing there -- this time Anderson -- is not going to take it for ball two.

He’s going to take his shot, put the ball in play and let the other guy chase it.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m here, is that’s the way they wanted to construct the team,� said Jeff DaVanon, who in the sixth inning tripled and scored the Angels’ third run. “If Scioscia was a sit-back-and-hit-a-three-run-homer guy, I definitely wouldn’t be here.�

It, perhaps, made Erstad’s career. The stats guys hate him. The baseball guys love him. And the Angels are a baseball organization first. He rewards them with a selfless game, having left layers of skin at every base in the league. He scored two runs Sunday, including the eventual game-winner, then hoped his suit pants wouldn’t stick to the strawberries on his knees.

“It fits my game,� he said. “Either I wouldn’t be here, or I’d have changed my game.�

The philosophy, and Scioscia’s insistence upon it, is every bit as vital as Bud Black’s pitching staff, and Alfredo Griffin’s defense, and Joe Maddon’s critical thinking. There is consistency to what they do, from throwing strikes early and often, to making the plays, to working the count to 2-and-1 before squaring the next fastball.

The Dodgers had two quality pitching performances against the Angels, and arguably a third, and left with nothing. They ran out a Jeff Kent-less, J.D. Drew-less, Milton Bradley-less lineup, with predictable results. They weren’t “boat-raced,� Jim Tracy’s term for getting run out of the park, but in the end, three times they were sunk.

Too much pressure. Too much talent. And yet, as shade began to cover the stands behind home plate, the Dodgers had a chance. The score tied. A capable reliever with the ball in his hands. Enough Dodger fans in the stadium to give it a rivalry feel. The middle of their order due up in the ninth.

Maybe it wasn’t confidence, exactly. But it was hope. These days, it’ll do. Then Sanchez was imperfect, and Anderson demanded that Cody Ross make a difficult play in right field, and the ball hit the wall as Ross arrived.

Eleven years after his first RBI -- off Kevin Brown in Texas on July 31, 1994, three nights after Kenny Rogers pitched a perfect game against the Angels -- Anderson reached quadruple figures, landed at second base and watched the win arrive.

It followed Erstad’s singling on a 2-and-1 pitch, Guerrero’s singling on the second pitch, Anderson’s doubling on the fourth. Ten pitches, three hits, two runs. The Angel offense.

“It took some effort and a certain mind-state to recognize that we’re not going to hit three-run home runs,� Anderson said. “We need to apply pressure to score runs.... I watch other teams, and I’m not going to name them, but I’m like, ‘How do you not try to move runners in those situations?’ A lot of them don’t know. And some of them don’t care.�

They do here. They do now. Leaving only one worry. Guerrero gaining on Erstad, pounding down the third base line.

“I caught him out of the corner of my eye,� Erstad said. “I’m just glad I didn’t slide.�

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Thousand island

Garret Anderson became the first Angel to reach 1,000 RBIs. All-time Angel RBI leaders:

*--* Rk. Player RBIs 1. Garret Anderson* 1,000 2. Tim Salmon 989 3. Brian Downing 846 4. Chili Davis 618 5. Darin Erstad* 587 6. Bobby Grich 557 7. Jim Fregosi 546 8. Wally Joyner 532 9. Don Baylor 523 10. Troy Glaus 515

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* -- active