American League Roundup: Angels awed by rout

Anaheim's 21-2 flogging of Indians 'aberration'

? Darin Erstad hasn’t seen many blowouts this big since he was in college.

Punting for Nebraska.

Anaheim pinch hitter Jeff DaVanon watches his three-run home run off Cleveland pitcher Chad Paronto in the eighth inning. The Angels scored 10 runs in the eighth on Tuesday in Cleveland.

Ramon Ortiz got all the runs he could ever need and Troy Glaus had five RBIs Tuesday night as the Anaheim Angels rolled to their fifth straight win, 21-2 over the reeling Cleveland Indians.

Erstad homered for the Angels, who scored their most runs in a game in 23 years and scored the most ever against the Indians at Jacobs Field.

“This was an aberration,” Erstad said. “You can’t figure this game out. Sometimes you find holes, sometimes you don’t. It’s a crazy game.”

Scott Spiezio added three RBIs and Glaus went 4-for-6 with a homer and scored three runs for the Angels, who led 9-1 after the seventh inning and then piled on with a 10-run eighth.

The Indians, who have lost 12 of 14, suffered their most lopsided home loss since the Jake opened in 1994.

“If we’ve ever bottomed out, we bottomed out tonight,” said Indians manager Charlie Manuel. “I don’t know if it’s the worst game I’ve been involved in. I had some rough ones in the minors. But it’s the highest-scoring one since I’ve managed in the big leagues.”

Jeff DaVanon hit a pinch-hit, three-run homer in the eighth as the Angels pounded out a season-high runs and 22 hits. Anaheim scored its most runs in a game since Aug. 25, 1979, when the Angels beat Toronto 24-2 in their most lopsided win ever.

The Angels have outscored opponents 54-17 during the winning streak.

“Hopefully, we can keep some momentum going,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

Ortiz (2-3) allowed one run and six hits in eight innings to win for the first time in four starts. The right-hander got some help from the Indians, who grounded into three double plays.

Anaheim finally hit behind Ortiz, too. The Angels had scored just nine runs in Ortiz’s first four starts, but they had tied that by the seventh inning.

“I like a game like that,” Ortiz said. “Twenty-one runs. You can pitch with that. You can throw anything.”

Glaus homered in the first inning off C.C. Sabathia (3-3), who lasted just five innings and has a 13.17 ERA in his last three starts.

Meanwhile, the Indians are heading in the opposite direction.

Cleveland, which opened the season 11-1 and had a 10-game winning streak, have lost three in a row and 12 of 14.

Jim Thome homered for the Indians, who are 13-13 and falling fast. Cleveland is also growing concerned about Sabathia, who was lifted after five innings.

In his last three starts, Sabathia has allowed 20 runs and 22 hits in 132*3 innings.

“There’s no excuse for what happened,” Sabathia said. “I got to get my edge back. I have not pitched well.”

Ricky Gutierrez grounded into two double plays he leads the majors with eight and Omar Vizquel hit into another for Cleveland.

If things weren’t bad enough, the Indians were also without Ellis Burks, their leading hitter. Burks strained his right hamstring on Sunday and is expected to miss the next few games.

Glaus’ two-run single in the third gave Anaheim a 3-1 lead off Sabathia, who struggled with his control and had his third straight awful outing.

The Angels added three more runs in the fifth, scoring the last one when Cleveland’s outfielders failed to catch an easy fly ball.

White Sox 8, Mariners 4

Chicago Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer as Chicago ended Seattle’s 10-game road winning streak to start the season. Counting five wins away from home to end last season, Seattle’s road winning streak had been 15 games. The White Sox, swept in Oakland last weekend by a combined score of 32-5, rediscovered their offense with 13 hits and broke a 3-all tie with a four-run fourth.

Rangers 10, Blue Jays 3

Toronto Alex Rodriguez hit his 250th career home run, and Kenny Rogers (3-0) had another strong start as Texas beat Toronto before the smallest crowd in SkyDome history. Rodriguez became the second-youngest player to reach 250 homers, at 26 years, 277 days. Only Jimmie Foxx (26 years, 269 days) was younger. Rafael Palmeiro also reached a home run milestone.

Red Sox 4, Orioles 0

Boston Darren Oliver (3-1) pitched his first shutout in more than two years and the fourth of his career, and Nomar Garciaparra drove in two runs to lead Boston over Baltimore. Light-hitting Rey Sanchez homered off Calvin Maduro (1-3), and Manny Ramirez had an RBI single for the Red Sox, who won for the 10th time in 13 games and snapped Baltimore’s four-game winning streak.

Twins 6, Devil Rays 3

Minneapolis Torii Hunter hit his ninth home run, and Kyle Lohse (2-1) pitched seven strong innings for Minnesota. Tampa Bay’s Greg Vaughn, hitless in 33 at-bats, went 0-for-4 to drop his batting average to .099, the lowest among major league regulars. Vaughn struck out twice.

Yankees 8, Athletics 2

New York Ron Coomer hit a three-run homer that capped a six-run first inning against Barry Zito (1-2), and New York snapped Oakland’s four-game winning streak in a game interrupted by rain for 1 hour, 47 minutes.