Angels’ Springer Becomes Springboard for A’s, 5-4

OAKLAND —  Russ Springer had it backward again in the Angels’ 5-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.

He followed a familiar, frustrating method of operation, faltering early before coming on strong after the second inning. But by the time he smoothed out the rough edges, it was too late, and the Angels and Springer each lost for the third consecutive time.

It’s the first time the Angels (37-38) have been below .500 this season.

“Well, if we can find some way to get Springer past the first two innings, we’ll have a pretty good pitcher,” Manager Buck Rodgers said after watching Springer give up five runs and five hits in the first two innings.

From the third inning through the seventh, when he was replaced by Jerry Neilsen, Springer held the A’s scoreless and gave up only three singles.

“He went from not having command of too many pitches to total command by the fifth,” catcher Greg Myers said. “It was quite a turnaround. All of a sudden, there it was right where you wanted it to be.”

Rodgers and Myers have seen pitchers struggle. But what sets Springer apart is that he pitches so well after he settles down.

In his last four appearances, including a stint in relief against Texas on June 15, he has given up 18 earned runs in the first and second innings for a 27.00 earned-run average. In the other innings in that same span, he has given up one earned run for a 0.60 ERA.

What gives?

Springer said he thinks he has discovered the answer, and that was the most encouraging result of his eight-hit, five-run, five-strikeout, two-walk performance before 22,756.

“I don’t think it’s being too wired up,” he said. “It’s trying to be too fine--pitching at the corners. I know I can pitch here (in the major leagues). It’s a matter of starting the game pitching like I can. This is the first time I’ve realized what I was doing wrong.

“Basically, I gave them too many runs to start with. If I gave them three runs, instead of five, we might have won. More than anything else, I just have to simplify things. You can make things so complicated (that) you can’t pitch.”

Said Myers: “He has a great arm, there’s no doubt about it.”

Except in the first inning. The A’s wiped out a 2-0 Angel lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to a two-run home run by Brent Gates. Springer (0-3) needed 31 pitches to get out of the inning, then seemed on the verge of total collapse in the second.

Gates’ two-run double and Ruben Sierra’s run-scoring single were the key blows in the second, but the A’s also took advantage of a club record-tying three wild pitches by Springer to take the lead for good, 5-2. Springer needed 33 pitches to escape the second.

He was superb after that, not letting a runner past first base.

“I knew I had to go out there and straighten some things out,” he said. “I’ve always been strong late in the games. I felt like I could have finished the game.”

Rodgers removed Springer after the right-hander reached 135 pitches through seven innings. The Angels trailed, 5-4, by then, rallying on rookie infielder Rod Correia’s two-run single off reliever Joe Boever (2-2) in the fifth. The runs batted in were Correia’s first in the major leagues.

In the fourth inning, he blooped a single to right-center for his first major league hit.

“That first one was ugly,” said Correia, who was called up from triple-A Vancouver on June 20. “The second one was real good. That was nice, more satisfying. It meant more to myself and the team.”

Boever, who replaced starter Kelly Downs with two men on and none out in the fifth inning, combined with Vince Horsman and Dennis Eckersley to hold the Angels scoreless during the final four innings. Their only hits in that span were a one-out double by Rene Gonzales in the eighth and a one-out single by Tim Salmon in the ninth.

Eckersley pitched the ninth inning and picked up his 16th save.

“We didn’t get the big hits,” Rodgers said. “We had Downs on the ropes a number of times. We had plenty of opportunities, but we just couldn’t get it done.”