Rodriguez Willing to Let It Slide

TORONTO —  You know you have a nasty slider when one of baseball’s best hitters strikes out swinging on a pitch that bounces through his legs. It actually happened in the eighth inning Wednesday night, when Angel reliever Francisco Rodriguez made Toronto first baseman Carlos Delgado look silly.

“Some of the guys were saying the ball went through his legs, but I don’t know how that could have happened,” said Rodriguez, who planned to watch a tape of the strikeout Thursday night. “I’ve got to see it to believe it. I’m surprised, especially the kind of hitter Delgado is, that he’d swing at a pitch like that.”

Delgado, who finished second in the American League most valuable player voting last season, said he was gearing up for a fastball, “and if you guess wrong, that’s going to happen.”

Rodriguez has shined in a setup role, giving up two earned runs in 25 2/3 innings for an 0.70 ERA. The hard-throwing right-hander has 38 strikeouts and six walks and has limited batters to a .198 average.

The reason for his dominance? He has harnessed control of his wicked slider to go with his 95-mph fastball, and he isn’t afraid to throw the breaking ball when he’s behind in the count.

“The reason the slider is so good is because it’s the same arm speed as my fastball, and the hitters can’t pick up the rotation,” Rodriguez said. “They think the fastball is coming, and it breaks down.”

Angel pitching coach Bud Black calls Rodriguez’s slider “one of the best breaking balls I’ve ever seen,” and Rodriguez’s confidence in the pitch continues to grow.

“There have been a number of times when he’s behind in the count and he’s thrown the slider for a strike,” Black said. “That leaves the hitter vulnerable, because he can’t sit on a certain pitch. When you try to guess with him, his stuff is so good you can’t react.”

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Reliever Brendan Donnelly, sidelined all season by a broken nose and, more recently, elbow tendinitis, continues to progress in his throwing program, and he hopes to return to a bullpen mound next week.

But if his elbow doesn’t improve by the end of June, Donnelly said he would “explore” the possibility of having arthroscopic surgery, a procedure that would sideline him for the rest of 2004 but drastically improve his chances for a complete recovery in 2005.

“Right now it’s coming along nicely, but I’d say if it doesn’t get considerably better or come all the way back in a month or so, I would have it re-examined,” he said. “Whether that means having exploratory [surgery], it’s too early to tell.”

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Catcher Bengie Molina did not start Thursday night. He has been slowed by a sore groin and knee, and his backup, brother Jose, entered the game with a .314 average and an AL-best 55% success rate (11 for 20) throwing out base-stealers. But Manager Mike Scioscia, who held a lengthy pregame meeting with Bengie Molina on Thursday, said he had no plans to split the catching duties between Bengie and Jose. “We want Bengie to play as much as he can,” Scioscia said.... Tim Salmon, on the disabled list because of an inflamed left knee, took batting practice and ran the bases Thursday in Anaheim and reported no problems.

ON DECK

Opponent -- Chicago White Sox, three games.

Site -- Comiskey Park, Chicago.

TV -- Channel 9 tonight, Channel 11 Saturday and Fox Sports Net Sunday.

Radio -- KSPN (710), KTNQ (1020).

Records -- Angels 29-18, White Sox 27-19.

2003 Record vs. White Sox -- 3-4.

Today, 5 p.m. -- Kelvim Escobar (3-2, 4.43) vs. Jon Garland (4-2, 4.09).

Saturday, 1 p.m. -- Aaron Sele (3-0, 3.05) vs. TBA.

Sunday, noon -- John Lackey (3-5, 4.98) vs. Scott Schoeneweis (4-1, 3.33).