Vaughn Saves Angels in Ninth

In another dramatic conclusion to an already unpredictable season, the Angels were more dynamic at the end. The Angels scored the late runs, found the hittable pitch, then celebrated the late rally.

The Angels scored twice in the ninth inning against closer Robb Nen and defeated the San Francisco Giants, 6-5, in an interleague game Tuesday night at Edison Field.

Mo Vaughn’s two-out single scored Darin Erstad from second base for the game-winner in yet another thrilling ending for the Angels, who seem to be on one end or the other of them every night. Erstad had singled home the tying run with one out, then moved to second on a failed suicide squeeze.

Nen (0-2) blew a save opportunity for the second time in the series, which is tied, 1-1.

The Giants scored a run in the top of the ninth against Troy Percival (4-2). Marvin Benard doubled home Felipe Crespo from first base with one out for a 5-4 lead.

“The heart of this team gets challenged every game,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said with a mix of admiration and amusement. “They keep coming. We keep doing it, coming back, winning ballgames late.”

On the final play, Erstad tore around third, racing against right fielder Armando Rios’ arm. He lunged past catcher Bobby Estalella, brushing the plate as he passed it.

The Angels’ last three games have been decided in the ninth, 11th and ninth innings, and they’ve won two of them.

“Lots of hits by lots of different people,” said Vaughn, who had been slumping. “That’s what this team is all about. You don’t want to be coming back all the time. But, we’ve got a lot of heroes on this ballclub. These guys have picked me up for the last five days when I haven’t done a thing.”

The Giants had a 4-1 lead disappear in the late innings, when seventh-inning singles by Bengie Molina and Erstad made it close, and an eighth-inning home run by Tim Salmon, his 14th, made it 4-4. Erstad had three more hits and raised his batting average to .384.

Salmon homered with one out against Giant left-hander Aaron Fultz.

And, the Angels weren’t near done. Not when the Giants scored against Percival, not when they came down to their last out in the ninth.

“I know the last two years, when I have it up, it took our team two days to recover,” Percival said. “It’s definitely a different atmosphere being a closer here.’

Until then, and perhaps still, it was a game made memorable by Barry Bonds.

Bonds is in one of those moods. They let go of the baseball and he hits it. And he knows that at some point, they have to let it go. It says so right there in the rules.

He stands there, cocksure, flipping that undersized bat, waiting for what seems to be the inevitable. He is four for eight in the series.

Bonds won Monday night’s game with a home run in the 11th inning. That one carried about 408 feet. Compared to what he would do in the third inning on Tuesday, it was the blow of an amateur.

Off Angel rookie Seth Etherton, Bonds hit the longest home run in the two-plus seasons of renovated Edison Field, a drive estimated at 493 feet that landed 20 rows into the right-field bleachers.

The crowd gasped at the tracer. Bonds, too, stood and watched, a baseball no-no forgiven in moments of such brute strength.

In an era of plentiful home runs, this was a real home run.

It was recorded as Bonds’ major league-leading 25th home run in a season in which it is fashionable again to be a Barry guy in Mark McGwire’s world.

The Angels had set out on their usual course. The Giants scored three runs in the third inning against Etherton and led, 3-0.

After two sure innings, Etherton allowed a leadoff single to Rich Aurilia and a home run to Benard. The ball was low, and Benard nine-ironed it over the scoreboard. The Giants led, 2-0.

With two out, Etherton pitched to a full count on Bonds. The one that Bonds finally hit was clocked at 89 mph. Bonds timed it to the inch and hit it a mile.

A bit more stout than a fungo bat, Giant starter Joe Nathan came off the disabled list for the start. The Giants designated for assignment outfielder Terrell Lowery, who was batting .556.