Big-hitting Angels sashay into Queens

NEW YORK -- The Angels did just fine without Vladimir Guerrero in their lineup, winning 10 of 18 games and managing to keep hold of first place in the American League West.
But for the Angels to live up to expectations, repeat as division champions and get as deep into October as they did in 2002, they know they need the reigning league Most Valuable Player in his usual No. 3 spot in the lineup.

They got that and maybe a bit more Friday night, when they overcame a sluggish start to steamroll the New York Mets, 12-2, before 31,131 in Shea Stadium.

Guerrero, whose partially dislocated shoulder landed him on the disabled list, came back strong with three hits and three runs scored. More important, however, was the effect his presence in the lineup seemed to have on his teammates.

Starter Bartolo Colon, who pitched six innings of two-run ball to notch his team-leading eighth victory of the season, searched out the lineup card and found it in the trainers' room.

"I did smile when I saw Vladdy's name in the lineup," Colon said.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who saw his team rap out 13 hits to even its record to 5-5 on a four-city, 12-game road trip through Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and New York, admitted that Guerrero does galvanize the club, but added that a lot of things are starting to go right for a team averaging seven runs per game over its last eight.

"He makes everyone around him better," Scioscia said. "But if you look statistically for us the last three weeks while Vlad's been out, we've done a lot.

"Tonight, we got some guys on and drove in some runs, and Vlad was in the middle of everything."

So was Steve Finley, who had been flailing at AL pitching through a baffling early season that had him straddling the Mendoza Line. Known as one of the streakier players in the league, Finley might be starting to embark on the positive side of that extreme.

Mets starter Kazuhisa Ishii, who was 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA against the Angels while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002-04, looked like a completely different pitcher through the first five innings Friday, striking out eight batters and shutting out the Angels on two singles.

"He was lights-out for the first five," Finley said.

The Mets scratched out a two-run lead, but Ishii walked Chone Figgins to lead off the sixth, Darin Erstad tied the game with a home run to right, Guerrero and Garret Anderson singled and Finley effectively put the game on ice three batters later by crushing a three-run homer over the wall in right-center.

All of a sudden, Finley, the 40-year-old who brought a .223 batting average into the game, is the Angels' home run leader with eight on the season. A sacrifice fly in the Angels' five-run ninth inning increased his RBI total to 37, which puts him on pace for 100 this season.

And with the Texas Rangers losing their fourth game in a row, the Angels' lead in the division grew to 2 1/2 games, the biggest advantage they've enjoyed since May 21, Guerrero's first day on the disabled list.

"We kept the ship afloat while he was gone," Finley said. "Hopefully with him back, he'll continue to do the things that made him MVP last year."

The Angels -- and their main man Guerrero -- are certainly starting to do the things that made them AL West champions last year.

Guerrero's second hit of the night was classic Guerrero. He was fooled on a changeup but leaned all the way over, reached out and flung the bat at the ball one-handed, flicking it into right field for a single.

Scioscia said the Angels were concerned about that type of swing and the damage it could do on the injured shoulder, but after the game Guerrero said it was fine.

"I felt pretty normal, actually, after not being in the lineup for a while," Guerrero said through an interpreter. "I saw the ball well and was able to fit into the offense. I'll probably let loose more when I get more swings and feel more comfortable up there."

Colon, doing the rare chore of hitting in a National League park, didn't exactly feel comfortable but managed to provide some humor on an easygoing night for the Angels.

His first two at-bats against Ishii were comically easy strikeouts for the left-hander, who fooled Colon so badly on a curveball that the burly batter's helmet fell off.

"He was lucky it was just his helmet that fell off," quipped Scioscia.

"I did like [hitting] when I was with the Expos," added Colon, "but now that I'm in the American League I almost don't want to go up to the plate. You can get hurt swinging the bat."

Colon, however, proved that it was the Angels' night in his third at-bat. He fisted an Ishii offering for an opposite-field RBI single, then shook the sting out of his hands on the run to first base.

It was a fitting moment for an offensive attack that just might be getting its wings with its most powerful pilot back on board.

"I definitely feel a flow," Guerrero said.

"Even when we were behind, 2-0, it was like we knew it was coming."

Source: http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/