Angels Classic Rewind | Dateline: May 10th, 2002

[AngelsWin.com]

By Joe Haakenson, AngelsWin.com Contributor - 

MAY 10, 2002

GAME 34  - WHITE SOX AT ANGELS

ANAHEIM -- Now the Chicago White Sox know how the Cleveland Indians must have felt.

It was 11 days ago that the Angels routed the Indians, 21-2, in the type of game that seems to come around only once a season, if that.

But the Angels did it again Friday, knocking the White Sox silly with a 19-0 victory before 36,715 at Edison Field. Like the game in Cleveland, the Angels did everything right. The 19 runs were the most scored by the Angels at home in franchise history.

They had a season-high 24 hits, including home runs by Garret Anderson, Brad Fullmer, Julio Ramirez and two by Adam Kennedy. The five homers in a game were the most since they hit five on May 14, 2000 against the Rangers. The 24 hits were two short of the club record.

Kennedy and even Tim Salmon had four hits each, while two other players -- Anderson and Fullmer -- had three hits apiece.

They got a solid pitching peformance from starter Scott Schoeneweis (2-4), who gave up three hits while throwing seven scoreless innings in winning his first game since April 6. A victim of poor support in some of his other starts, Schoeneweis could not have asked for more on Friday, including errorless defense behind him.

What it all means is the Angels have won 12 of their past 14 games and are two games over .500 (18-16) for the first time since Sept. 17 of last season, when they were 73-71. They are still 6 1/2 games behind the A.L. West-leading Seattle Mariners, but moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Oakland for second place.

Despite all the big hits, everything started for the Angels with the bunt. Three of them, in fact.

There was no score when Kennedy led off the bottom of the third with a bunt single. David Eckstein followed with a sacrifice bunt, but Kennedy reached second when third baseman Tony Graffanino's throw hit second base umpire Phil Cuzzi in the shoulder. Darin Erstad dragged a bunt past pitcher Dan Wright and beat second baseman Ray Durham's throw to load the bases.

From there, the Angels rolled. They scored eight runs in that third inning, including two when White Sox center fielder Kenny Lofton lost Anderson's flyball in the twilight sky for a two-run double.

Fullmer was next up, and he responded with a three-run homer, his first as an Angel.

''You look at the final tally and it's hard to believe it started with three bunts,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ''But it did.''

Kennedy's homers were his first of the season, but he said the bunt single to start the third was more satisfying.

''The bunt set up everything,'' said Kennedy, who raised his average to .286. ''It made me more comfortable at the plate later. It got us more of a cushion, so I've got to go with the bunt. But (the home runs) were a close second.''

The onslaught continued as the Angels scored twice in the fourth and three times in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Scioscia began taking some of his starters out by the sixth inning, but it didn't slow the offense. Ramirez pinch hit for Erstad in the sixth inning, and hit the first pitch he saw over the fence in left-center for his first major league home run.

It was a bit of revenge for Ramirez, who was released by the White Sox during spring training before he signed with the Angels. It was also ironic, considering what the White Sox told him when they let him go.

''If I told you what they told me when they released me, you'd think it was a joke,'' Ramirez said. ''They said, 'Swinging at the first pitch won't get you to the major leagues.' And that was all they really said.''

All the runs were nice for Schoeneweis, who tried his best to ignore the scoreboard.

''You try to think about it as a 0-0 game,'' he said. ''I mean, if we can score 19, they can score 19.''

NOTEBOOK

ANAHEIM -- Garret Anderson is as devoted to the one-day-at-a-time approach as any Angel player, but he won't deny he's looking forward to a three-game series June 18-20.

That's when the Angels are in St. Louis to play interleague games against the Cardinals and one of Anderson's best friends in baseball, ex-Angel Jim Edmonds.

Edmonds, a 1988 graduate of Diamond Bar High, was moved to tears when he embraced Anderson in the Angels' spring training clubhouse in Tempe, Ariz. the day in March of 2000 when he was traded for Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy. And the two speak to each other on the phone often, even if sometimes it's only through voice mail.

''We're always pushing each other to do better, messing with each other,'' Anderson said of the phone calls.

And it seems to be working. Edmonds hit 42 homers with 108 RBIs while batting .295 in 2000. Last season he hit 30 homers with 110 RBIs and a .304 average. This year he's hitting .343 with eight homers and 24 RBIs.

''I always knew he could do those things,'' Anderson said. ''When you're hurt, it's hard to put those numbers up. He was hurt when he was here, and he still played when he was injured too. Since he's been there he's been healthy.''

Edmonds' time with the Angels mixed spectacular defense and a solid bat with controversy and alleged back-biting from teammates. But Anderson said Edmonds was misunderstood.

''I think the way things transpired wasn't good,'' he said. ''It was the whole situation. I don't want to get into it, but from what I understand he probably did get an unfair shake. In that situation, nobody's right, everybody's wrong.

''I'm glad he's healthy again. I wish he could have done it here, but business is business.''

Anderson himself has put together some good seasons since Edmonds was traded, batting .286 with 35 homers and 117 RBIs in 2000, and batting .289 with 28 homers and 123 RBIs last year. He went into Friday's game against the White Sox batting .292 with five homers and 21 RBIs.

''It'll be fun,'' Anderson said of playing against Edmonds and the Cardinals. ''I've got Eduardo Perez over there too, he's a good friend. We all came up together, played a full season together in the minor leagues in '93 (Triple-A Vancouver). It'll be cool to play somewhere new and play against old friends.''

*

Reserve outfielder Julio Ramirez has made quite an impression in his two starts since being called up May 2. In his first game, he had a bunt single and threw a runner out at the plate. In his second game he had a two-run triple.

With regular right fielder Tim Salmon enduring on-going struggles, Ramirez will get an occasional start, but he isn't about to take over the starting job.

''What's impressive about Julio is the amount of time he sits between at-bats and when he comes in he's able to contribute,'' Scioscia said. ''That's tough to do, especially for a young player. As with any player, if he keeps producing he'll work himself into more at-bats.''

*

First baseman/DH Shawn Wooten took live batting practice Friday for the first time since tearing a ligament and dislocating his right thumb on March 13. Wooten also took ground balls and said the workout went well.

He's expected back in mid-June.

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[Chuck]

Here's to another 19-0 route over the White Sox on this date in history (in 2002).