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ANGELS, ESCOBAR LET VICTORY WALK AWAY SEVEN FREE PASSES, ERROR PROVE COSTLY OAKLAND 2, ANGELS 1.


Byline: DOUG PADILLA Douglas ("Doug") Padilla (born October 4, 1956 in Oakland, California) is a former middle and long distance runner from the United States, who won the overall Grand Prix 1985 and the World Cup 5000m race in 1985.  

Staff Writer

OAKLAND -- The Angels gave away a victory Saturday, wrapped it in nice paper with a tidy little bow.

This wasn't as much a defeat as it was an offering. The Oakland Athletics “Philadelphia Athletics” redirects here. For other uses, see Philadelphia Athletics (disambiguation).
The Oakland Athletics are a professional baseball team based in Oakland, California.
 had better check with the IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws.  to see if they have to pay taxes on something like this.

It seemed as if everybody was in a giving mood, and nobody more so than Kelvim Escobar Kelvim Jose Escobar Bolivar [ess-coe-BAR] (born April 11, 1976 in La Guaira, Venezuela) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004-present). He bats and throws right handed.  as the A's pulled off an unlikely 2-1victory.

The right-hander allowed just two hits but gave up seven walks. He gave up just two runs, with one unearned because of his own error.

"I felt great," Escobar said. "I thought one run would be enough for me the way I felt. But I walked some guys and had that play at first base. That's the game."

That a victory depended on what Escobar did with his glove points to just how much trouble the Angels really were in. Clinging to a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning, Escobar (11-6) walked twoof the first three batters to set up potential trouble.

But the right-hander got the one-out groundball he needed when Nick Swisher Nicholas Thompson Swisher (born November 25, 1980) is a first baseman and outfielder for the MLB club Oakland Athletics. Swisher is a switch hitter who throws left-handed.  hit a sharp bouncer to Casey Kotchman Casey John Kotchman (born February 22, 1983 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is a Major League Baseball first baseman for Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He hit his first Major League home run on August 5 2005. In 47 games in 2005, Kotchman had 7 home runs and 22 runs batted in.  at first base. Kotchman threw to second for the second out and Orlando Cabrera's return throw to Escobar covering at first base looked as if it might be in time to end the inning.

But Escobar couldn't grab the throw that was just a foot or so to his right. It rolled out of play, allowing Donnie Murphy Donald Rex "Donnie" Murphy (born March 10, 1983 in Lakewood, California) is a second baseman in the Oakland Athletics organization of Major League Baseball. He attended Riverside (California) Polytechnic High School and Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa, Califoria  to score the tying run.

"The throw was away from me a little bit and it was tough, but I should have made that play," Escobar said. "You stretch and you're not a first baseman. I just got locked in. The throw was just a little bit to the side, and I could have made the catch. It hit my glove. It was a tough play."

The play only illustrated how damaging walks can be. Escobar's seven walks tied a career high. It was the fifth time he's given up as many.

"He wasn't missing by much but a couple of pitches got away from him," manager Mike Scioscia
    Michael Lorri "Mike" Scioscia (born November 27 1958 in Morton, Pennsylvania) is a former catcher and current Major League Baseball manager. His last name is pronounced SO-shuh. He is often referred to by the nickname Sosh.
     said. "Outside of (seven walks) he pitched great. It was a game we had every opportunity to win, and we just couldn't get the key hit in the early going with guys in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when he is on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter hits an extra base hit, while a runner on ."

    It was still early when the Angels started blowing prime scoring chances that could have led to a comfortable lead. They had runners on first and third with one out in the first inning, but Cabrera was thrown out at home trying to score on a ground ball by Garret Anderson Garret Joseph Anderson (born June 30, 1972 in Los Angeles, California) is a Major League Baseball left fielder who has played his entire career for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. .

    In the second inning, the Angels scored their only run on a sacrifice fly from Jeff Mathis Jeffrey Stephen "Jeff" Mathis (born March 31, 1983 in Marianna, Florida, USA) is a major league baseball catcher playing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and made his Major League debut on August 12, 2005 with them. He bats and throws right handed. . The third inning presented another opportunity, but two hits and a walk led to nothing. The Angels had six hits and a walk after threeinnings but had only onerun to show for it after leaving four runners on base.

    "Right now we haven't had that continuity (on offense) since the All-Star break that we had in the first half and we have to get back into that game," Scioscia said. "We've seen flashes of it: the Detroit series and games here and there. We need to come out here and have guys get comfortable and get into their games."

    The lack of early production came back to haunt the Angels in the seventh inning, and once again two walks to the first threeA's batters were to blame. A line drive by Murphy gave Escobar the second out before pinch hitter Travis Buck lifted a pop fly down the line to shallow right field.

    Reggie Willits charged the ball but couldn't get to it until after it bounced, allowing Mark Ellis to score the go-ahead run. The Angels went quietly in he final two innings, just as they had been doing since the start of the fourth inning. The Angels followed their six hits in the first two innings with two hits over the final sixinnings.

    doug.padilla@sgvn.com

    (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2731

    Angels

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    The Angels' Kelvim Escobar allowed just two hits but gave up seven walks in a loss Saturday in Oakland.

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    Article Details
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    Title Annotation:Sports
    Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
    Date:Aug 5, 2007
    Words:739
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