Erick Aybar's all-around effort helps Angels past Tigers, 5-1

Erick Aybar’s all-around effort helps Angels past Tigers, 5-1

By Kevin Baxter

July 30, 2011 12 AM PT

Reporting from Detroit — Playing on a team loaded with former and current All-Stars, Cy Young Award candidates and rookie-of-the-year contenders, some lesser lights are destined to be overshadowed.

But Angels shortstop Erick Aybar doesn’t feel ignored.

“Everybody says hi to me. And talks to me like normal,” he said with a smile.

If they’re teammates, they better start treating him with a lot more respect than that. Because on Saturday, Aybar contributed a little bit of everything to the Angels’ 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, getting three hits, stealing two bases, scoring twice and turning in a game-changing defensive play.

That made the day a little easier for Dan Haren (11-6), who scattered six hits in pitching his third complete game, ending a winless streak at three starts.

“Aybar’s been really great for us,” Haren said. “His defense, stealing bases, switch-hitting. He’s had a lot of big RBIs.

“He’s got to be right up there for MVP of our team.”

Not that anyone in the clubhouse has noticed, but Aybar leads the Angels in hits and steals, is second in runs and third in batting. And though there’s no stat for this, you can be pretty sure he leads the team in highlight-reel defensive plays as well.

None, perhaps, better than the one he made in the seventh inning Saturday. With the Angels clinging to a 3-1 lead, the Tigers opened the inning with consecutive singles to put runners at first base and third base with no outs.

Victor Martinez followed by hitting a chopper toward first base. Mark Trumbo fielded the ball and threw to second base for the force but rather than go back to first base to complete the double play, Aybar spun and threw home, nipping Magglio Ordonez at the plate.

It’s only the second time this season a team has turned a 3-6-2 double play and it was the Tigers who hit into the other one, in June in Colorado.

“That is incredible field sense for Erick to get that force out and realize he has a play at home,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It’s a big momentum swing right there.”

The kind of momentum swings the Angels will need if they’re going to continue to rely on pitching and defense to win.

And lacking for power at the plate, they’re also going to have to continue to manufacture runs, something Aybar did Saturday as well, helping the Angels to their fourth win in five games and sixth in nine tries on their 10-game trip.

He singled and stole two bases in his first at-bat, for example, doubled to set up what proved to be the winning run four innings later, then singled to start the Angels’ final rally in the eighth inning.

“Erick was in the middle of everything today,” Scioscia said.

As for when the rest of the country will begin to notice, well, let’s just say Aybar isn’t holding his breath.

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Everybody watches TV. So we’ll wait for that.”

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