ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Brad Fullmer continued to make life
miserable for his former Anaheim Angels teammates -- particularly
Ramon Ortiz.
Fullmer homered off Ortiz and drove in two runs in his first
game in Anaheim since leaving as a free agent in the offseason,
leading the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 victory on Tuesday night.
Ortiz (0-2) was charged with four runs and six hits in 2 1-3
innings, after the Rangers pounded him for seven runs and nine hits
in 2 2-3 innings on April 9 at Arlington.
"He hasn't had great command, so you try to get him to make a
mistake and make the most of it," Fullmer said. "He's certainly
capable of doing some good things out there, but it's important
when a guy's not doing his best that we make him pay."
Ortiz's ERA in three starts this season is 12.65. But manager
Mike Scioscia insisted that his spot in the rotation is secure for
now.
"We don't foresee any knee-jerk reactions here," Scioscia
said. "It's clear we need to pitch better, but we still think
these are the guys who are going to do it.
"Ramon's an important part of our rotation. There are some
adjustments that need to be made, obviously, but Ramon is going to
take the ball again and we're going to give him every opportunity
to bet back in his groove."
Aaron Sele pitched three scoreless innings of two-hit relief for
the Angels.
"I still consider myself a starting pitcher," Sele said. "We
had a competition that was open this spring, and it went the way it
went. The decision wasn't mine to make. But I don't want anybody to
fail -- because if they're failing, we're not doing well."
Kenny Rogers (3-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in five
innings, striking out three and walking two. The victory was the
left-hander's 104th with the Rangers, tying Bobby Witt for second
place on the franchise list behind knuckleballer Charlie Hough's
139.
Jeff Nelson pitched a hitless eighth inning and Francisco
Cordero put runners on first and second in the ninth before
retiring Vladimir Guerrero on a groundout for his third save.
The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the second on Gerald Laird's
two-run single after a two-out walk to Kevin Mench and a double by
Laynce Nix.
Texas extended the margin to 5-1 in the third. Hank Blalock
doubled and scored on a single by Alfonso Soriano, who was caught
stealing by Bengie Molina one pitch before Fullmer chased Ortiz
with a homer to center.
It was the second homer for Fullmer, who stung the Angels with
four RBI in 12-6 win on April 10 at Arlington -- and hit a
three-run pinch double in a 7-6 win two nights later. Fullmer won a
World Series ring with Anaheim two years ago, but missed the final
86 games last season after injuring his right knee running out a
grounder. He signed with Texas as a free agent in December.
"It's good to be playing with my legs feeling good," Fullmer
said. "I mean, it wasn't like it was every day that my legs were
killing me, but there were a lot of days where I had to go out
there feeling less than my best. And over a couple of years, it
just kept was getting worse and worse.
"Looking back, I really don't mind that much that my knee blew
out. At least now, it's repaired. Dr. (Lewis) Yocum fixed it up and
I rehabbed way ahead of schedule."
Kevin Gregg relieved Ortiz and gave up a double to David
Dellucci and an RBI single to Mench that capped Texas' three-run
rally. Fullmer added a sacrifice fly in the seventh off Sele.
The Angels, who hadn't scored in the first inning of any of
their first 13 games, ended the drought when Troy Glaus hit a
run-scoring double off the right-field wall to drive in Darin
Erstad.
Jose Guillen drove in Anaheim's second run with a two-out single
in the third. Molina homered in the sixth off Dellucci's glove as
the left fielder made a leaping attempt above the bullpen fence.
The homer came against Carlos Almanzar.
Game notes
Guerrero has two hits in his last 21 at-bats. ... Karl
Malone threw out a ceremonial first pitch, taking advantage of the
Los Angeles Lakers' three-day break between playoff games. The
Angels' Triple-A team is based in Salt Lake City, where Malone
spent 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz. ... Anaheim DH Tim Salmon was
a late scratch because of soreness in his left knee. So was Texas
1B Gerald Perry, who had a sore right calf. ... Adrian Gonzalez,
who started at 1B in place of Perry, singled in the second for his
first major league hit. Gonzalez was selected as the first overall
pick in the June 2000 draft by the Florida Marlins.