Vlad’s bat lifts Angels over Texas
Vladimir Guerrero homered twice and drove in five runs while going 4 for 5 and the Anaheim Angels pulled into a tie with the Oakland Athletics atop the American League West with an 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas.
The Angels never trailed in their fourth consecutive win after Guerrero’s two-out solo homer in the first. It was 8-0 after his 36th homer, a three-run shot in the sixth.
The Rangers fell three games off the pace with five games left.
Texas, the surprise contender after four straight last-place finishes, has lost four of five since sweeping three games from the Athletics last week.
Kelvim Escobar (11-12) allowed just two runs on three hits over six innings to win for the first time in four starts against Texas this season. He struck out three.
Garret Anderson and Dallas McPherson also homered for the Angels, who have two games left in Texas before a season-ending three-game series in Oakland.
Guerrero, hitting .333 in his first Anaheim season, has 121 runs batted in and 120 runs to join Don Baylor as the only Angels with 120 RBIs and 121 runs in the same season. Baylor was the A.L. MVP in 1979, when he drove in 139 runs and scored 120.
Breakout season for Santana
After the Twins clinched their third consecutive division title, champagne flowed again. Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire led the tributes to a pitcher who has authored one of the great stories of the 2004 baseball season. Not only was Johan Santana the toast of the clubhouse but of an entire country.
By defeating the Indians on Friday night, Santana became the Twins’ first 20-game winner in seven years. Of greater significance in Venezuela, he became the first pitcher from the South American nation to achieve that statistical standard of excellence.
“I think his country’s got to be proud of this kid,” Gardenhire said. “I know we are.”
In his first full season as a starter, Santana has tormented batters with his assortment of fastballs that reach 94 mph, nasty sliders and changeups. The victories only begin to suggest his domination. He leads the A.L. in strikeouts (260), earned run average (2.62) and opponents’ batting average (.193). Furthermore, he has won his last 13 decisions and posted 33 consecutive scoreless innings before the Indians pushed across a run Friday. It’s the only run he has yielded in September.
Battle over Bonds’ baseball continues
A court hearing is scheduled for today in San Francisco in the dispute over who is the rightful owner of the ball Barry Bonds hit for his 700th home run.
The hearing will be in San Francisco County Superior Court, according to Daniel Horowitz, the attorney representing Steve Williams. Williams is the Giants fan who ended up with the prized ball during a melee in the left-center field bleachers at SBC Park on Sept. 17. Williams was notified that he was being sued by attorneys for Timothy Murphy.
Clearing the bases
Boston pitcher Pedro Astacio and New York Yankees pitcher Brad Halsey were each suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball after being ejected from Boston’s 11-4 win over the weekend for throwing at opposing hitters. … San Francisco pitcher Dustin Hermanson was suspended for three games for intentionally hitting Houston’s Jeff Kent with a pitch in a game last week. Hermanson also was fined an undisclosed amount. … Omar Minaya is leaving the Expos to become the head of baseball operations for the Mets. Minaya has been the general manager of Montreal for the past three seasons.