Baseball Guru
04-03-2002, 10:35 AM
By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer
April 3, 2002, 6:11 AM EST
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- David Eckstein went 3-for-4 and scored three times as the Anaheim Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 7-5 Tuesday night for their first victory of the season.
Kevin Appier, acquired from the Mets in a December trade that sent Mo Vaughn to New York, got a no-decision in his Anaheim debut. He gave up four runs and four hits in five innings, leaving with the game tied at 4.
Appier had some trouble with his control. He walked four, hit a batter and threw 106 pitches.
Cleveland starter C.C. Sabathia, who went 17-5 last season and finished second to Ichiro Suzuki in AL rookie of the year voting, allowed four runs in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Anaheim reliever Ben Weber (1-0) gave up one hit in two scoreless innings for the win. Troy Percival allowed a leadoff homer to Russell Branyan in the ninth but finished for his first save.
Losing pitcher David Riske (0-1) gave up an unearned run in the sixth inning.
The Angels, shut out by Bartolo Colon on five hits opening night, went up 5-4 in the sixth when Cleveland second baseman Ricky Gutierrez lost Bengie Molina's pop fly -- which would have been the third out -- in the lights.
The ball bounced off Gutierrez's glove, and Troy Glaus scored from second.
Riske, who had just relieved Sabathia, walked Glaus with one out, then struck out Benji Gil. Ricardo Rincon replaced Riske, and Brad Fullmer singled, moving Glaus to second. Molina followed with his high popup.
Glaus' two-out, two-run double in the seventh gave Anaheim a three-run cushion. Mark Wohlers intentionally walked Garret Anderson to pitch to Glaus, who lined Wohlers' next pitch deep into the gap in right-center.
Eckstein had an RBI single off Sabathia, then scored from first on Darin Erstad's double into the right-field corner to even it 4-all in the fifth after the Indians scored twice in the top of the inning.
Ellis Burks singled in one run for the Indians in the fifth, and Omar Vizquel scored on Jim Thome's sacrifice fly to give the Indians a 4-2 lead.
Eckstein tripled and scored on Erstad's groundout to draw the Angels even at 2 in the third inning.
Vizquel's RBI triple and Burks' run-scoring single in the top of the third put Cleveland up 2-1.
In the opening inning, Erstad singled, stole second, went to third on catcher Einar Diaz's throwing error and scored on Tim Salmon's double to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.
Appier went 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA last year in his only season with the Mets. The 34-year-old right-hander signed a $42 million, four-year deal with New York in 2001.
Notes:@ Cleveland RHP Jaret Wright has returned to the extended spring training program in Winter Haven, Fla. to begin rehabilitating his right shoulder. Wright pitched just four innings the spring after feeling discomfort in his shoulder. MRI and other examination findings were inconclusive. ... The Indians played the second game of an eight-day, six-game road trip to Anaheim and Detroit. Since 1994, Cleveland has opened the season at home only three times -- in 1994, 1996 and last season. ... The Angels snapped a losing streak that -- going back to last season -- had reached eight straight with their 6-0 loss to Cleveland on Sunday.
AP Sports Writer
April 3, 2002, 6:11 AM EST
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- David Eckstein went 3-for-4 and scored three times as the Anaheim Angels beat the Cleveland Indians 7-5 Tuesday night for their first victory of the season.
Kevin Appier, acquired from the Mets in a December trade that sent Mo Vaughn to New York, got a no-decision in his Anaheim debut. He gave up four runs and four hits in five innings, leaving with the game tied at 4.
Appier had some trouble with his control. He walked four, hit a batter and threw 106 pitches.
Cleveland starter C.C. Sabathia, who went 17-5 last season and finished second to Ichiro Suzuki in AL rookie of the year voting, allowed four runs in 5 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Anaheim reliever Ben Weber (1-0) gave up one hit in two scoreless innings for the win. Troy Percival allowed a leadoff homer to Russell Branyan in the ninth but finished for his first save.
Losing pitcher David Riske (0-1) gave up an unearned run in the sixth inning.
The Angels, shut out by Bartolo Colon on five hits opening night, went up 5-4 in the sixth when Cleveland second baseman Ricky Gutierrez lost Bengie Molina's pop fly -- which would have been the third out -- in the lights.
The ball bounced off Gutierrez's glove, and Troy Glaus scored from second.
Riske, who had just relieved Sabathia, walked Glaus with one out, then struck out Benji Gil. Ricardo Rincon replaced Riske, and Brad Fullmer singled, moving Glaus to second. Molina followed with his high popup.
Glaus' two-out, two-run double in the seventh gave Anaheim a three-run cushion. Mark Wohlers intentionally walked Garret Anderson to pitch to Glaus, who lined Wohlers' next pitch deep into the gap in right-center.
Eckstein had an RBI single off Sabathia, then scored from first on Darin Erstad's double into the right-field corner to even it 4-all in the fifth after the Indians scored twice in the top of the inning.
Ellis Burks singled in one run for the Indians in the fifth, and Omar Vizquel scored on Jim Thome's sacrifice fly to give the Indians a 4-2 lead.
Eckstein tripled and scored on Erstad's groundout to draw the Angels even at 2 in the third inning.
Vizquel's RBI triple and Burks' run-scoring single in the top of the third put Cleveland up 2-1.
In the opening inning, Erstad singled, stole second, went to third on catcher Einar Diaz's throwing error and scored on Tim Salmon's double to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.
Appier went 11-10 with a 3.57 ERA last year in his only season with the Mets. The 34-year-old right-hander signed a $42 million, four-year deal with New York in 2001.
Notes:@ Cleveland RHP Jaret Wright has returned to the extended spring training program in Winter Haven, Fla. to begin rehabilitating his right shoulder. Wright pitched just four innings the spring after feeling discomfort in his shoulder. MRI and other examination findings were inconclusive. ... The Indians played the second game of an eight-day, six-game road trip to Anaheim and Detroit. Since 1994, Cleveland has opened the season at home only three times -- in 1994, 1996 and last season. ... The Angels snapped a losing streak that -- going back to last season -- had reached eight straight with their 6-0 loss to Cleveland on Sunday.