MLB
  Scores
  Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries: AL | NL
  Players
  Weekly Lineup
  Message Board
  Minor Leagues
  MLB Stat Search

Clubhouses

Sport Sections
  Saturday, Jul. 8 4:10pm ET
Erstad, Vaughn homers power Angels
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The home runs keep coming for Anaheim. So do the victories.

Darin Erstad hit a leadoff homer and Mo Vaughn added a two-run shot as the Angels defeated Colorado 6-2 Saturday, sending the Rockies to their season-high sixth straight loss.

Darin Erstad
Darin Erstad smacked a leadoff homer to get the Angels going Saturday.

Home runs dominated the Angels' scoring for the second straight game as they moved five games above .500 for the first time this season with one interleague game remaining before the All-Star break begins Monday.

"The more I keep saying home runs aren't what this club is built around, they keep proving me wrong," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We have a lot more to offer, but obviously those home runs helped."

Erstad led off the first inning with his 17th home run on an 0-1 pitch from Brian Bohanon. After Benji Gil walked, Vaughn sent a 3-1 pitch into almost the same spot in the right-field seats to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.

"It was an important game for us to win to keep us going into the break," Vaughn said of the Angels' third straight victory. "We're playing well. We've shown we can put some wins together and keep ourselves in it. It seems like we're putting it all together."

Ken Hill (5-5) gave up two runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out two. He's allowed two runs or less in three of his last four starts. He left his last start trailing 5-0 against Seattle on Monday.

"It's a huge improvement from his last start," Scioscia said. "He threw some tremendous sliders and painted the outside corners. He has to bottle this consistency."

Hill pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. Hill gave up consecutive two-out singles to Brian Hunter and Todd Helton, then walked Jeffrey Hammonds before getting Larry Walker to fly out to center.

"I've got to do a better job policing an inning," he said. "I use six-seven pitches to get two outs, then 20 pitches to get the third out."

Bohanon (4-6) gave up six runs and 10 hits in seven-plus innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked three.

He had given up only two homers to lefties this season until Erstad and Vaughn homered in the first and Garret Anderson homered in the eighth.

"I made a few mistakes and they hit them hard," Bohanon said. "They stay in there real well and they're aggressive hitters. That's their key."

Bengie Molina, who hit his first career grand slam in Anaheim's 12-4 victory Friday night, made it 4-1 in the fourth with his 11th homer.

"He's been a very pleasant surprise offensively," Scioscia said. "He has surprised us with the pop he's shown."

Erstad, who leads the majors with 46 multi-hit games, drove in Anaheim's fifth run with a single in the fourth.

Colorado's runs came on Terry Shumpert's fourth homer of the season in the fourth and Neifi Perez's RBI double in the sixth.

Scott Servais hit a ball that barely went foul in left field before Perez's RBI.

"That's the way it's been going for us. If that stays fair, it's a 5-3 game and it's a whole new game, but we haven't gotten a lot of breaks for six, seven days," he said. "But this is no time to hang our heads. No one is going to feel sorry for you."

Mike Holtz, Shigetoshi Hasegawa and Troy Percival combined to hold the Rockies to one hit over 3 1/3 innings.

Game notes
C Servais' throwing error in the first inning was the first in 62 1/3 innings for Colorado. ... Servais fouled off eight of 13 pitches from Hill, including six straight after the count was 3-2, in the sixth before grounding to second. ... Colorado's Mike Lansing singled to right in the sixth for his 1,000th career hit. ... The Rockies hadn't lost six straight since July 23-28 last year. ... The Angels are 16-3 when Vaughn homers. ... Molina played DH for the first time in his career. The Angels have used nine DHs this season. ... Walker is 0-for-6 in the series, and is 1-for-16 with four walks as DH during interleague play this season. ... Erstad hit his third leadoff homer of the season and 11th of his career in the first.

 


ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard

Colorado Clubhouse

Anaheim Clubhouse


Banged-up Walker won't play the field against Angels


RECAPS
NY Yankees 4
NY Mets 2

Chicago Cubs 9
Chi. White Sox 2

Cincinnati 14
Cleveland 5

Anaheim 6
Colorado 2

Atlanta 5
Boston 1

Florida 6
Tampa Bay 5

Toronto 6
Montreal 3

Philadelphia 13
Baltimore 4

Pittsburgh 4
Minnesota 1

Kansas City 5
Houston 2

Detroit 4
Milwaukee 2

Texas 8
San Diego 1

Oakland 8
Arizona 7

Seattle 11
Los Angeles 0

San Francisco 7
St. Louis 6