ANGELS INSIDE LOOK: THIS TIME KEY HITS ARE MISSING LINK ANGELS ARE JUST 1 FOR 8 WITH RUNNERS IN SCORING POSITION.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Perhaps the Rally Monkey had a strained hamstring? It's hard to figure why else the Angels, who made their World Series run with countless clutch hits, came up empty so often Saturday night in Game 1.

The Angels stranded five runners in scoring position in the first four innings, and the big late-inning rally, a staple of the Angels' postseason success, never happened in their 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Edison Field.

``We had the right guys up there at the right times, but it just didn't happen,'' hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said. ``They're not happy right now. They're going to come out pissed off (in tonight's Game 2) so watch out.''

Several times in Game 1, the Angels seemed one hit away from breaking open a big inning. They had one hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position, and the Angel who waited the longest to make the World Series suffered the most.

Tim Salmon went 0 for 4 and missed two crucial chances to drive home runs. In the third, with the Angels trailing 2-1 and Adam Kennedy on third base with two outs, Salmon flied out meekly to center field.

Even worse was the fifth inning, with the score still 2-1 and runners on the corners. Salmon swung at the first pitch and fouled out to San Francisco first baseman J.T. Snow, who slipped while tracking down the ball but recovered to make the catch.

Garret Anderson then struck out, and Snow hit a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to give the Giants their winning margin.

``It was a pretty good pitch, a fastball, and he just missed it, that's all,'' Hatcher said. ``It wasn't a bad swing or anything. I was hoping that first baseman would have stayed down when he slipped.''

Much has been made of the Angels' ability to sustain rallies, to feed off each other and frustrate opposing pitchers with consecutive hits. The Angels have built their success on moving runners over with ground balls and bunts, but had no sacrifice hits in Game 1.

San Francisco starting pitcher Jason Schmidt was far from dominant, as he allowed nine hits in 5 2/3 innings but seemed to have a knack for making good pitches at the right times. Three Giants relievers then combined for 3 1/3 hitless innings.

``They definitely made some key pitches when they needed to,'' Angels shortstop David Eckstein said. ``We tried to put pressure on (Schmidt) and we will try to do that for the rest of the series.

``I thought we came out aggressive, taking our hacks, so you've got to give credit to their pitching staff.''

The Giants pitchers certainly deserve recognition, but there was also plenty of blame to be handed out in the Angels' clubhouse. Troy Glaus hit two home runs, but they were both solo shots.

Glaus' first home run came in the second, after Anderson struck out to lead off the inning. In the fifth, Salmon and Anderson faltered with two runners on and one out. If one of them had reached base, Glaus would have hit. Instead, he led off the sixth and hit a solo shot.

Light-hitting catcher Bengie Molina also helped kill two potential rallies. In the second, Brad Fullmer singled and stole second but Molina flew out to left field. In the fourth, he grounded to third with runners on first and second and two outs.

With the tying run on first and two outs in the eighth, Angels manager Mike Scioscia pulled Molina in favor of a pinch-hitter, and Orlando Palmeiro took three consecutive balls from Tim Worrell but fouled out with a full count to end the inning and the Angels' last scoring chance.

``(The Angels) put pressure on the opposition,'' Giants manager Dusty Baker said. ``They hit and run a lot, but it didn't really rattle our pitchers too much.

``We hate to see those (scoring) opportunities out there, but at the same time, once they get out there, you've got to figure out how to get out of it.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Darin Erstad reacts after striking out in the fourth inning of a game in which the Angels lacked the big hit.

Keith Birminham/Staff Photographer

Box:

THREE AND OUT