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GAME LOG
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Toronto Blue Jays' victory drought wasn't as long as Chris Michalak's dry spell, although it seemed that way.
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The left-hander got some early run support Tuesday night and breezed to a 9-3 victory over the Anaheim Angels, Michalak's first win since April 18. Michalak won his first three starts before the Angels ended that streak with a 4-1 triumph on April 28.
Michalak (4-2) allowed a run and four hits in seven innings after being staked to an 8-0 lead. He didn't allow a run until on a two-out homer in the seventh by rookie David Eckstein.
"It's been some time in between wins, but that's going to
happen in baseball," said Michalak, who pitched more than six
innings for the first time in seven career starts. "The only thing
I can do is try to be consistent every time out, and hopefully the
wins will take care of themselves."
In his previous outing, Michalak had surrendered six earned runs
-- as many as he did during his four starts in April combined. The
difference this time was throwing first-pitch strikes, being more
aggressive and changing speeds.
"It's a simple formula, but creating it and then carrying it out during the course of a ballgame was the difference in his effort tonight," manager Buck Martinez said.
"He's known that all along. But he just fell into the team slump of trying to be too fine and too perfect, instead of just doing what he does best -- relying on the movement of his fastball and shooting for the big part of the plate."
Carlos Delgado helped supply the offense, going 3-for-5 with two
homers. He hit a two-run shot off Ismael Valdes in the fourth and a
leadoff homer against Lou Pote in the seventh.
Delgado, whose 16 homers are one behind the major league-leading
total of Arizona's Luis Gonzalez, had his fifth multihomer game this
season and the 27th of his career.
"He's one of the premier hitters in the game," Martinez said. "We have seen this so often already this year. Once he gets in a groove, he can string together some pretty awesome games. And when he gets hot, he can carry a team for a long time."
Raul Mondesi homered in the ninth for the Blue Jays, who lead the majors with 65. He was 3-for-5 with an RBI double.
"When Carlos is swinging the bat good, they have to throw me more strikes," Mondesi said. "So I'm trying to be patient and look for a good pitch to hit."
Valdes (2-3) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in six innings. All
seven runs came with two outs.
"When you don't have your good stuff, you have to figure out a
way to get hitters out," Valdes said. "That's what I was trying
to do tonight. I did the best I could."
After a second-inning leadoff single by Brad Fullmer, Vernon
Wells hit a grounder through the right side that under normal
circumstances would have been a hit. But Fullmer missed second
base, fell rounding the bag and was thrown out by Tim Salmon while
trying to scramble back.
Darrin Fletcher followed the unorthodox fielder's choice with an
RBI double for the game's first run.
Fullmer got a gift RBI double in the third when center fielder
Darin Erstad lost his two-out fly ball in the twilight and the ball
fall about 20 feet behind him. Tony Batista followed with a two-run single that made it 4-0.
"It was a very weird play," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "It was obvious that Erstad lost the ball. I don't think Valdes was rattled, but it did make it more difficult for him."
Doubles by Alex Gonzalez and Mondesi produced the fifth run, and
Delgado homered to cap the three-run fourth, extend the Blue Jays'
home run streak to 11 games.
Game notes
Delgado is averaging a home run for every 8.25 at-bats, the
best mark in the AL. ... Michalak, whose 3.58 ERA coming in was the
lowest among Toronto starters, also had the worst run support (3.33
per game). ... Valdes has pitched 19 1-3 innings over his last
three starts without allowing a walk. ... The Angels, who had a
staff ERA of 6.99 against Toronto last season, have surrendered 27
runs in their first four meetings with the Blue Jays this year. ...
Rex Hudler returned to the Angels' TV booth Tuesday night, 38 days
after he was hospitalized with a minor hemorrhage at the base of
his brain. ... Rookie manager Buck Martinez has changed pitchers a
league-leading 118 times.
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RECAPS
Baltimore 11
Detroit 3
Kansas City 6
Tampa Bay 2
Boston 5
Minnesota 2
Cleveland 8
Texas 6
Toronto 9
Anaheim 3
Oakland 3
NY Yankees 2
Seattle 4
Chi. White Sox 3
Arizona 5
Cincinnati 1
San Francisco 7
Florida 4
Montreal 2
Los Angeles 0
Milwaukee 14
Philadelphia 10
St. Louis 8
Pittsburgh 3
NY Mets 1
San Diego 0
Atlanta 5
Colorado 3
Houston 9
Chicago Cubs 7
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