BASEBALL: DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Doing It With Defense

The Angels played their seventh consecutive errorless game Thursday, one short of the club record, set April 26-May 4, 1989. They have made 23 errors, the fewest in the American League.

Their fielding is a big improvement over 1990.

“Everybody knows the difference between 1989 and 1990 was our defense,” said Manager Doug Rader, whose team stayed in contention in 1989 in part because of its defensive excellence. “A lot of it was unavoidable (because of injuries). We’re playing right now on par with the ’89 season.”

After having Wednesday off to shake his zero-for-14 slump, Luis Polonia returned to the lineup with a single, a triple, two stolen bases and three runs batted in. He apparently responds well to an occasional day off. After his last respite, on May 13 at Cleveland, he went five for six with three RBIs and two steals. . . . Ron Tingley has been behind the plate in each of Kirk McCaskill’s victories in his three-game winning streak. . . . Dave Parker has eight RBIs in his past seven games. . . . The Angels had 35 hits in Chicago and are hitting .285 on the road. . . . Center fielder Junior Felix was scratched so he could rest his strained right calf muscle. Max Venable replaced him. . . .

The White Sox extended the contract of Manager Jeff Torborg through 1993. Torborg was the league’s manager of the year in 1990.