ANGELS CAUGHT IN BAD MOMENT GAME ENDS WITH AYBAR THROWN OUT.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA 

Staff Writer

MILWAUKEE -- Bad jump. Bad luck. Bad idea.

All three haunted the Angels on Monday against the Cleveland Indians as Erick Aybar was caught stealing to end a one-run game for the second time in the past five games.

Just like in Thursday's loss to Oakland, the opponent was celebrating a tag at second base to end a tight victory.

"I don't want to talk about some of the things we do, but on that particular pitch he was on his own," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Aybar. "We wouldn't have put him on his own if that opportunity wasn't there."

Aybar, who was pinch-running for Casey Kotchman in the ninth inning, had the green light to steal, which doesn't mean he was told to go. He took the chance anyway and the Indians were able to hang on for a 7-6 victory at Miller Park.

It was the first Major League Baseball neutral-site regular-season game in three seasons. The series was moved to the retractable-roof stadium in Milwaukee on Monday because of bad weather in Cleveland.

Even in the new venue, Aybar looked like he was stuck in the mud.

The Angels had rallied from a 7-3 fifth-inning deficit to give the surprisingly large crowd of 19,031 a reason to stay until the end. Kotchman pulled the Angels to within a run on a two-out RBI single to right in the ninth inning before he was replaced by Aybar.

On a 1-1 count, Aybar tried to seize his chance but didn't get the best of breaks against Indians reliever Joe Borowski. His bad jump put him in a vulnerable spot.

Borowski's pitch to the hot-hitting Howie Kendrick was high in the zone, allowing catcher Kelly Shoppach the opportunity to stand up to receive the ball. The bad luck ended with Shoppach easily throwing out Aybar at second.

The out took the bat out of the hands of Kendrick, who was 4 for 4 to that point. The four hits tied a career high.

"It was. a thing where it looked like we had a little bit of an opening, the catcher made another great throw. It had to be right there and it was," Scioscia said. "In fact, looking at the combination, we felt that even with a good throw, Erick would have a chance to beat it, but he just didn't quite get there."

Aybar, who battled a sprained ankle at the end of spring training, said the injury is healed and was not an issue.

"I made the decision because I saw that it was a good count," Aybar said. "I had the time. It was a good throw."

Angels starter Ervin Santana never looked comfortable. Road starts have always been his downfall, and neutral sites apparently are not the answer either. Santana had a 5.95 ERA on the road last season and has a 6.46 mark away from home for his career.

Santana gave up six runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings, often going deep into counts. He had four walks to go along with twostrikeouts.

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Photo:

The Angels' Orlando Cabrera, left, can't handle the throw as Grady Sizemore steals second.

Morry Gash/Associated Press