[Chief Rum]

Erstad Atones, Saves Angels (April 10)

Darin Erstad takes his defense very seriously. In 2004, he became the only player in major league history to win a Gold Glove in both the infield and the outfield, after winning the award at first base.

So when he makes an error like he did in the ninth inning tonight, he knew he had to make it up to his team. Erstad hit a two-run homerun just inside the left field foul pole in the bottom of the ninth to bring the Angels back to a 6-5 victory, after his miscue allowed the Royals to take the lead in the top half of the inning.

With one out and set up reliever Shane Nance on the mound, Adam Kennedy singled to right, setting up the game-winning at bat for Erstad.

In the top half of the inning, the Angels were up 4-3 with closer Frankie Rodriguez on the mound when Erstad's error on a grounder by C Paul Hoover allowed Hoover to reach base. Hoover would then go to third on a bad throw by Bengie Molina and come around to score on a double by 3B Mark Teahan. Pinch hitter Adrian Brown then drove in Teahan's pinch runner, Matt Diaz, on a force out at second base, to put Kansas City ahead.

The late game heroics overshadowed the fact the Angels dominated the series in sweeping the hapless Royals, and also the first breakout game of the season for superstar Vladimir Guerrero. The right fielder provided much of the Angels' early offense with his first homerun of the year, and had a day that fell just a double short of the cycle. Guerrero drove in three of the Angels' four early runs.

Both starters deserved better. Kelvim Escobar saw a shot at a win go by the wayside with the ninth inning comeback, while Royals' starter Ryan Jensen pitched a solid eight innings.

The Angels have won four in a row and are now in first place alone for the first time this season, one game up on the A's.

MLB Notes (April 10)

The Giants came back late in the game to remain the only undefeated team in baseball, beating the Rockies, 2-1. The Rockies used a two singles and a fielder's choice to push across the game's first run in the top of the eighth, before Ray Durham and Edgardo Alfonzo hit back-to-back solo shots in the bottom of the inning for the difference. The game featured a pitcher's duel between Sun Woo Kim and Jason Schmidt. Kim pitched seven scoreless innings before the Colorado pen blew a chance to seal the team's first win. Colorado is one of two teams without a win on the season...

The Dodgers used four homeruns, including two by Japanese import Norihiro Nakamura, to hang on for a 9-7 win over the Diamonbacks, and get their first win of the season. The Dodgers had lost their first five games of the season...

The Mets remain winless after the Cards took them apart tonight, 12-3. The Cardinals pounded out 14 hits, including five doubles and three homers. Two of the doubles came courtesy of star Albert Pujols, while another of St. Louis's big bats, Scott Rolen, got a homerun. Cardinals' starter Jason Marquis felt discomfort in his shoulder and had to leave the game after getting just two outs in the first inning, but team doctors say it's just a slight shoulder strain. Marquis should make his next start. The Mets couldn't take advantage of it, though, and have now lost six in a row, the most in baseball...

The Devil Rays used a five-run seventh inning, with key doubles provided by B.J. Upton and Aubrey Huff, to beat the A's, 8-6. Not only did the game bump the A's from a first place AL West tie with the Angels, but it also moved the Devil Rays on top of the AL East. The normally pathetic team is the only club in the division with a record over .500, at 4-2. Not all is rosey, though, as starting 3B Eric Munson strained his hamstring running the bases. While it appears he would only miss a week, the team decided to be cautious and put him on the DL. In the meantime, rookie Rico Washington was called up from AAA Durham and will split time with reserve Earl Snyder at the hot corner...

So what if he's 42 years old? The Rocket Roger Clemens needed less than 100 pitches to complete a two-hit shutout of the Reds tonight, with the Astros winning 4-0. The win was Houston's fourth in a row, and keeps them in a first place tie with the Cardinals in the NL Central. The division is looking tough early on--the Cubs and Pirates are also over .500...

Chipper Jones hit a three-run homerun in the eighth inning to bring the Braves back in a 4-2 win over the Nationals tonight. The win gives Atlanta five in six, and an early two-game lead in the NL East...

The White Sox didn't show much respect for the Twins' vaunted pen when they scored eight runs with two outs in the sixth inning off of J.C. Romero and Juan Rincon. Carl Everett cleared loaded bases with a double, and Paul Konerko and Juan Uribe also doubled in the inning, which saw eight hits from the Pale Hose. The Sox went on to win, 10-0. Jon Garland struck out nine Twins in eight innings of scoreless work...