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A.L. reports

Sporting News, The, May 19, 2003

ANAHEIM ANGELS

LHP Jarrod Washburn got a complete-game victory against the Indians after barely missing one seven days earlier. At Cleveland, he was five outs away when Matt Lawton hit a two-run homer. In Anaheim, Washburn says he threw 95 percent fastballs in a 6-hit win. He threw 106 pitches in the game and came back in the ninth inning after C Bengie Molina and 2B Adam Kennedy hit homers in the seventh and eighth innings, putting the Angels up, 6-1.... Batters had been 0-for-22 with runners in scoring position against RHP Brendan Donnelly until last week. Even when Josh Bard and John McDonald got hits, Donnelly got out of the inning with no runs scored. RHP Troy Percival says Donnelly is tough mentally and is not afraid of any situation.... Sometimes throwing too many strikes can be trouble. RHP Ramon Ortiz didn't walk a batter last week against the Blue Jays, but he was roughed up for seven runs. Of his 68 pitches, 48 were strikes.... A new approach is helping DH Brad Fullmer hit. "He's calmed down his pre-swing routine a little bit, allowing himself a much more consistent path to the ball," manager Mike Scioscia says.

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BALTIMORE ORIOLES

When C Brook Fordyce left the team after his father's death, the club became one of the first to use the bereavement-list rule included in the latest collective-bargaining agreement. The rule allowed the Orioles to replace Fordyce on the roster, but it required Fordyce to stay off the roster three to seven days. The team called up C Robert Machado.... After three wrist surgeries in the last two years, getting comfortable in the batter's box is a constant battle for RF Jay Gibbons. He's healthy but says, "I have a completely different body." He's confident he will get used to a leaner, not quite as strong, body. Gibbons had 15 home runs as a rookie in 2001 before he broke a bone in his right wrist. He hit 28 in 2002 but needed two more surgeries, and that limited him to one month of offseason weightlifting.... LHP Adam Loewen, the club's first-round pick in last June's draft, finished his season at Chipola Junior College with a 9-1 loss in a Florida state tournament. Before that, he had a 1.52 ERA. The Orioles have until May 27 to sign Loewen. If they can't, he'll go back into the draft.

BOSTON RED SOX

A couple of factors have helped the team become the first to score 200 runs this season. First, 3B Bill Mueller and SS Nomar Garciaparra each have 10-game hitting streaks. Second, the club entered the week 11-4 at home and 12-9 on the road, making the Red Sox and Yankees the only A.L. teams over .500 at home and away.... The latest concern about RHP Pedro Martinez is a tight groin. He took longer than usual to stretch during warmups before facing the Twins last Friday. He then gave up five runs in five innings and struck out only four batters. He shut out the Twins the previous week.... RHP Derek Lowe, a 21-game winner who was third in A.L. Cy Young voting last year, has struggled to find consistency. He won't blame the three weeks of offseason training he lost when he was treated for skin cancer. Lowe flourishes at Fenway Park where he is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three starts. Away from Fenway, he is 1-2 with an 11.12 ERA in four starts.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

1B Frank Thomas may have entered the week second in the A.L. in walks with 26, but he's still upset. He was called for a third strike in the first inning of a game against the Mariners, and attributes losing that game to that one strike. At the time, the White Sox Park, had runners at first and third with nobody out. Thomas, who was hitting .243, says it seems he never gets the calls inside and adds it's a big part of his game. He says he can't be effective when that pitch is consistently called a strike against him.... This is the kind of luck LHP Mark Buehrle is having, After walking two runners and loading the bases in the first inning against Oakland, he got Ramon Hernandez to pop up a 3-2 pitch. Then 2B D'Angelo Jimenez barely got a glove on the ball. Then Jimenez kicked it. By the time OF Magglio Ordonez could retrieve it, three runs had scored.... RHP Jon Garland is having trouble getting the third out. Last week, Garland threw a fastball that A's SS Miguel Tejada blasted for a two-out, three-run homer that led to Garland's third loss. "That's something we need to address," manager Jerry Manuel says. "Maybe the problem is concentration. There needs to be a sense of urgency when he gets to two outs."

CLEVELAND INDIANS

A recent two-run homer by RF Shane Spencer came at the end of a 4-for-34 stretch. Before the homer, he had only one RBI since April 23. Spencer, a six-year veteran, never has had more than 288 major league at-bats in a season. This is his first chance to play regularly, and he's frustrated his numbers aren't better.... Struggling OF Karim Garcia went on the D.L. because of a sore wrist, but that has not been his problem at the plate. Even though Garcia has 20-15 vision, he is having trouble seeing the ball, as his .194 average (.143 vs. lefties) attests. "He has to make sure his direction in batting practice is toward left-center field," manager Eric Wedge says. "That doesn't mean he has to hit every ball there, but he has to think that way. Right now, he doesn't have his balance, and he's not seeing the ball." Garcia says he can see the difference from last year's swing and can correct it in batting practice, but he's only facing 60-mph pitches during B.P.... With most starting pitchers going into the seventh inning and the offense still struggling, would it be beneficial to trim the bullpen to six relievers and add a hitter? Wedge says it's an option the team won't pursue now but might consider later in the season.

A.L. reports

Sporting News, The, May 19, 2003

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