New Lineup Is a Runaway Hit

Dissatisfied with the results of his daily tinkering, Mike Scioscia on Saturday completed a major overhaul of an Angel lineup that had averaged three runs a game over the first four games of a six-game homestand.

The reconfigured Angels got off to a quick start against the Detroit Tigers, with the first two hitters scoring, before reverting to their more confounding ways by stranding the bases loaded to end the first inning.

But given a full nine innings to get a feel for their new spots in the batting order, the Angels made their manager appear clever while rallying for an 11-8 victory before a sellout crowd of 43,545 at Angel Stadium.

Chone Figgins, dropped to ninth in the order for the first time this season, delivered a two-run homer and drove in four runs on a night the Angels needed a victory to keep pace in the American League West and wild-card standings. They remained 1 1/2 games behind the Oakland Athletics in their division and one game behind the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race.

Figgins, a 5-foot-8 speedster expected to move runners over or create havoc on the basepaths, played power broker for one night, triumphantly extending his right arm in the air as he rounded first base after clubbing his decisive homer in the sixth.

The Angels sent 10 men to the plate during their five-run sixth, transforming a 6-6 tie into a laugher with seven hits off Tiger relievers Roberto Novoa (1-1) and Gary Knotts.

The Tigers temporarily removed the smiles from the Angels’ faces in the seventh, when Ivan Rodriguez and Carlos Pena each whacked a solo homer off Kevin Gregg (5-1), and in the eighth, when they loaded the bases with nobody out against reliever Brendan Donnelly.

But Donnelly struck out Carlos Guillen on a 2-and-2 pitch before giving way to Francisco Rodriguez, who struck out Ivan Rodriguez and Rondell White to end the inning. Rodriguez pumped his fist after striking out White on a 94-mph fastball, eliciting a roar of approval from Angel fans who stood in anticipation.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been that excited,” said Rodriguez, noting that the moment trumped his appearance in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. “We’re going to need this game in six weeks.”

Said Scioscia: “You’ve got to put a star by that one. That was incredible.”

Rodriguez also pitched a perfect ninth to collect his ninth save, striking out two more Tigers along the way.

Figgins was not the only Angel to make the most of his new assignment.

Jose Guillen, taking Garret Anderson’s cleanup spot after Anderson was moved to fifth in the order for the first time this season, hit a solo homer in the fifth and singled in another run in the seventh.

Anderson drove in two runs and Darin Erstad, switched from sixth to second in the order, had two hits and scored two runs.

Scioscia said he made the changes to revive an offense that was third in the league in batting average but eighth in runs.

“We’re scoring some runs, but not nearly with the consistency with which we should,” Scioscia said before the game.

“This lineup has a lot of elements that can work in our favor all the way through, and hopefully it will be productive.”

About the only unproductive Angel on Saturday was Ramon Ortiz, who gave up eight hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings, his shortest start since April 20.

But the Angel offense gave Ortiz an immediate lift in the bottom of the first when David Eckstein hit his first homer in more than a year and the team collected five of its 17 hits.

“We have it within us to hit the ball at that pace, but you certainly don’t expect to come out and get 11 runs.” Scioscia said.

“We needed every one of them tonight.”

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AL Wild-Card Race

*--* W L GB Boston 64 51 -- Angels 64 53 1 Texas 63 52 1 Cleveland 63 55 2 1/2 Chicago 58 56 5 1/2

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