K-Rod, Molina steal A-Rod's thunder in win
AL West: Alex Rodriguez makes history, gets blown away by Francisco Rodriguez.
Article Published: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 9:50:38 PM PST By Gabe Lacques, Staff writer
On a day dominated by an unprecedented milestone, the first A-Rod vs. K-Rod showdown and another display of offensive prowess by the Angels, Bengie Molina managed to make a statement of his own.
Before the game, the Angels catcher received his 2002 Gold Glove award. Then, he proceeded to show that an offseason workout program designed to make him more flexible, more durable and more valuable in '03 was not in vain.
Molina broke the game open with a two-run double in the fifth inning, had three hits, drove in four runs and even scored on a sacrifice fly to shallow center field, helping the Angels defeat the Texas Rangers 11-5 before a Wednesday afternoon crowd of 25,821 at Edison Field.
Alex Rodriguez hit his 300th home run in the fifth inning, a three-run opposite-field shot off Ramon Ortiz, and at 27 years, 249 days became the youngest player in baseball history to reach that mark. Later, he flailed futilely at three Francisco Rodriguez fastballs in the seventh inning, as the Angels' 21-year-old prodigy made his season debut to a standing ovation and then gave the crowd what it wanted by striking out the side.
Troy Glaus, Brad Fullmer and Darin Erstad hit home runs to key the Angels' 14-hit attack, and Ortiz battled through some sickness to last five innings for his first victory of the season.
Nearly lost in the fireworks was a quiet victory for Molina, who bristles when scouts or the media make light of his lack of speed. In the fourth inning, he drove in Glaus with a double to the gap in left-center field and moved to third on a single by Adam Kennedy. David Eckstein followed with a soft fly ball to shallow center field.
Doug Glanville caught the ball. Molina broke from third, began his long trip home, yet made it safely just under the tag of catcher Todd Greene.
His emotional reaction after sliding home was no coincidence.
"Just to score a run and know that last year, I wouldn't have done that, and knowing that I can go every day makes me happy,' said Molina, who has opened the season with four hits in 12 at-bats. "It's too early to say that I'm performing well. But it's not too early to say how I feel. I'm feeling very good right now my body, my arm feels good.'
It's a stark contrast to the past two seasons, when injuries to both hamstrings forced Molina to miss 60 games. His batting average fell from a career- best .281 to .262 and then .245, and the whispers that he was no longer viable offensively were harder to ignore.
"I've been able to hit my whole career,' he said. "Everybody's judging me by one year. I know I can hit. It's a matter of staying in a groove.'
Staying healthy will help Molina stay in a groove, and he hired a personal trainer this winter to help him do so.
"Bengie worked very hard in the offseason and he's swinging the bat this spring the best I've seen in a couple of years,' manager Mike Scioscia said. "Hopefully it will carry over.'
That Rodriguez's home run came off Ortiz was of little surprise. He's now 12 for 35 with six home runs lifetime off Ortiz. But Ortiz also feels comfortable against the Rangers. He improved to 10-1 in his career against them.
He said he wasn't sure he would last more than one inning because he was weakened by flu-like symptoms. But while he wasn't efficient, needing 87 pitches to complete five innings, his only damaging mistakes were poorly placed fastballs to Rodriguez and Doug Glanville, who hit a solo homer in the third.
But Fullmer's two-run homer in the fourth, Molina's two RBI hits and Erstad's sixth-inning home run pushed the lead to 9-4, which meant Francisco Rodriguez could come right at Alex Rodriguez in their much-anticipated seventh inning showdown.
And that he did, pumping three 95-mph fastballs by him to set him down on four pitches. He also struck out Hank Blalock and Juan Gonzalez in the inning, but did give up the first earned run of his career an inning later when Rafael Palmeiro hit a hanging slider out to right.
Still, Rodriguez struck out the side for fifth time in 15 career games, including the postseason, and again showed he's not terribly concerned with who's in the batter's box.
"A-Rod vs. K-Rod ... I don't look at it that way,' he said. "It's Francisco vs. Alex. Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez ... I don't put more pressure on myself and say, it's Alex Rodriguez.'
ANGELS NOTES: Kennedy was injured Wednesday when he and right fielder Tim Salmon collided converging on a pop fly. Salmon's left knee caught Kennedy in the right hamstring, and now the Angels' second baseman is day-to-day with a hamstring contusion. Oddly enough, Kennedy's injury came at a time the Angels appear to be 100 percent healthy. Glaus, who has been battling tendinitis in his right wrist, and Erstad, who had off-season hand surgery, each hit their first home runs of the season Wednesday. Erstad has started the season hitting .455 (5 for 11) and Glaus is at .364. ... The Angels claimed right-handed pitcher Elio Serrano off waivers from Colorado on Wednesday. To clear room on the 40-man roster, they designated left-handed reliever Mark Lukasiewicz for assignment. Serrano was claimed by the Rockies from Philadelphia earlier this year; the 24-year-old Venezuela native went 1-3 with a 2.92 ERA in Triple-A last season. Lukasiewicz, 30, appeared in 41 games the past two seasons with the Angels, posting a 5.35 ERA. The Angels have 10 days to trade, release or place Lukasiewicz on waivers.