Ortiz Given Round-Trip Ticket

CHICAGO —  The unlucky number is 13. That’s the number of home runs Ramon Ortiz has given up this season. No major league pitcher has given up more.

Yet, after the Chicago White Sox bashed four home runs off Ortiz in a 10-4 victory Saturday, the Angels talked less about concern over his tendency to surrender the long ball and more about his development as an emerging ace.

Frank Thomas tagged Ortiz for two home runs and Paul Konerko and Jose Valentin each tagged him for one, as the Angels’ eight-game winning streak died on another chilly evening at Comiskey Park. Just as the team played well in many facets of the game during all that winning, the team played poorly in many facets of the game Saturday.

The starting pitcher gave up four home runs in six innings. The relievers, Mark Lukasiewicz and Ben Weber, combined to give up four runs in two innings. Errors by Lukasiewicz and third baseman Troy Glaus snapped a 61-inning errorless streak and contributed to two unearned runs. The Angels left 13 runners on base and went three for 15 with men in scoring position.

Perhaps Ortiz had spoiled the Angels. For the first time this year, he gave up more than four runs.

But the Angels were anxious to see how he responded to adversity, and on that score he received a passing grade. Four times he gave up a home run, but four times he retired the next batter. That pleased pitching coach Bud Black, who noted that a home run in previous years would often be followed by a walk.

“What we see is a guy who gives up a lot of homers but pitches aggressively,” Black said. “He’s not afraid to challenge guys. In the past, you might have seen him pitch defensively at times, and that could lead to a few more walks.”

Ortiz walked one and struck out seven Saturday. He has struck out 48 and walked 14 this season, a ratio of 3.4 strikeouts to each walk. He struck out 135 and walked 76 last season, a ratio of 1.8.

And, by keeping walks to a minimum, the damage from home runs also can be kept to a minimum. Of the 13 homers he has given up, 10 have come with no one on base.

“I don’t think you can say the home runs have killed Ramon,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Ortiz still ranks among league leaders in earned-run average (3.30) and strikeouts. He’s 4-4, but the Angels have scored seven runs in his four losses--and 41 in his four victories.

“I don’t care about home runs,” Ortiz said. “I just care about making my pitches.”

On that score, the results were mixed. After the very first batter, catcher Jorge Fabregas had to call timeout to calm Ortiz and remind him to keep his pitches down. And, although one of the home runs shattered Thomas’ bat and left the Angels shaking their heads, Fabregas suggested that Ortiz ought not to have thrown the slider that Konerko hit out.

Ortiz faced the White Sox eight days ago in Anaheim, and Konerko homered that day. On the pitch Konerko hit out Saturday, Fabregas called for a fastball. Ortiz shook him off and opted for the slider, which he hung.

“I have a feeling [Konerko] was waiting for it,” Fabregas said. “I wanted to throw a fastball inside. But, if Ramon gets that slider down, it’s probably an out.”

The Angels did their share of hitting too, albeit not in the clutch. They outhit the White Sox, 11-10. Brad Fullmer, whose batting average was .183 three weeks ago, had three hits to lift his average to .294. He failed to hit a home run in April, but his homer Saturday gave him three in his last seven games.

Darin Erstad, whose batting average fell to .188 last month, lifted his average above .300 for the first time since April 2. He extended his hitting streak to eight games.

And, although they lost, the Angels can win their seventh consecutive series with a victory today.

“If we thought we were going to win them all, we were sadly mistaken,” Fabregas said. “[But] if we win every series, we’ll be OK.”