ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The fans gave Tigers closer Troy Percival

a standing ovation after a video tribute to him early in the game.

In the ninth inning, the crowd was on its feet again, roaring as

Francisco Rodriguez got the final out for the Los Angeles Angels.

Percival didn't get in the game, his first back in the ballpark

where he starred for a decade. He watched from the bullpen as his

replacement as the Angels' closer finished Friday night's 4-3

victory over Detroit.

"There's a lot of emotion when a guy like Percy comes back to

the place that was his arena for so long," Angels manager Mike

Scioscia said. "But I'm sure Frankie (Rodriguez) was just thinking

about getting the Tigers out."

Rodriguez walked one batter, struck out another and got two

groundball outs in the ninth for his eighth save in nine chances.

He spoke with Percival before and during the game.

"It was good to chat with him. It (the tribute) was nice. He's

got a lot of fans here, a lot of people love him," Rodriguez said.

Percival said before the game he's not surprised Rodriguez is

off to such a good start in his first year as the Angels' closer.

"He's got great stuff and he's got great makeup for closing. So

I expected it," said Percival, who holds the Angels record of 316

saves. "It wasn't as though they didn't think I could do the job

anymore.

"They had somebody who could do the job admirably."

Kelvim Escobar pitched 7 1-3 strong innings and Steve Finley

tripled in two runs and doubled home another for the Angels, who

won their fifth straight.

Escobar (1-1), making his third start of the season, gave up

three runs and six hits, struck out five and walked two. He missed

the opening three weeks because of an elbow sprain.

The Angels, who have won 22 of their last 25 games against

Detroit, were ahead 4-1 before Carlos Guillen's RBI double with one

out in the eighth. Scot Shields relieved, and Detroit added another

run on Dmitri Young's RBI double. Shields then struck out Marcus

Thames and retired Ramon Martinez on a groundout.

Finley broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with a two-run

triple down the right-field line against Wilfredo Ledezma (1-3),

then hit an RBI double off Ledezma in the sixth.

Ledezma gave up four runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings as

Detroit lost its fourth straight.

"It's another tough loss," Detroit manager Alan Trammell said.

"Offensively, we're just not getting it done.

"But what are you going to do -- close up shop after 28 games?

You've got to keep going and somehow find a way to get the win and

stop the bleeding."

Percival responded to his standing ovation by stepping out of

the Tigers' dugout and doffing his cap to the sellout crowd of

44,042, the largest in the regular season since the ballpark was

reconfigured before the 1997 season.

He signed a two-year, $12 million free agent contract with

Detroit last November.

Thames, starting in right field in place of the injured Craig

Monroe, tied it 1-1 in the second inning with a solo homer.

The Angels' Chone Figgins went all the way from second to home

on Garret Anderson's slow roller just inside the chalk down the

first-base line in the first inning.

Ledezma rushed off the mound, but apparently thought the ball

was going to roll foul, so he didn't touch it as Anderson ran past

him. Ledezma and catcher Ivan Rodriguez then hovered over the ball

as it slowly came to a stop, still inside the line.

By then, Figgins was nearly home, with no one covering the

plate. Ledezma swatted the ball with his glove in frustration.Game notes
Monroe, who left Wednesday night's game against Boston in

the seventh inning with a mild groin strain, was a late scratch due

to the same injury. ... Anderson singled his first two times up,

and with 2,864 total bases set the Angels club record. He moved one

ahead of Tim Salmon, who has missed the team's last 66 games

because of injuries to his left shoulder and left knee that

required offseason surgery. Salmon isn't expected back until

September at the earliest.