ANGELS NOTEBOOK: SCHOENEWEIS TRYING TO COPE WITH DISTRESS.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

TORONTO - Scott Schoeneweis will leave for his home in Arizona today to be with his wife, Gabrielle, who is scheduled to have labor induced Monday. It will be the couple's first child together, a boy named Hudson.

It also will be a chance for Schoeneweis to forget his troubles on the mound. He added a changeup to his repertoire during the offseason so he no longer would be in the neighborhood of a .500 pitcher with a 5.00 ERA.

Well, he's not. He's 1-4 with a 6.03 ERA in six starts. He hasn't won in his past five starts, but not all of it is his own doing. He's given up three earned runs or fewer in four of his six starts and gone at least seven innings in the same four.

He just hasn't gotten any breaks.

``You (reporters) look at the end results, the win-loss record, the ERA,'' he said. ``If I looked at that, I'd retire. ... All I can do to keep myself sane is continue to do what I'm doing if I'm throwing well, and if I'm not, make an adjustment.''

Saturday, Schoeneweis gave up four runs (three earned) and nine hits in seven innings. But the defense made two errors as balls that were not hit well found holes, and Schoeneweis was left to deal with it.

``Once the ball is out of my hand, I can't really do anything about it,'' he said.

That leaves the Angels' coaches, particularly pitching coach Bud Black, to serve as Schoeneweis' psychologist.

``If we scored 10 runs, or 21, we probably wouldn't be talking,'' Black said. ``We try to give him a long-term perspective. If he pitches well - not exactly like today but along the same lines - he's going to be fine.

``He's very hard on himself. We've had talks about staying positive, it'll only get better, your day will come, all those things. He just has to trust his abilities.''

--Angel in the infield: Brad Fullmer, normally the Angels' designated hitter, got his fourth start of the season at first base and played well defensively. He also had hits to raise his season average to .241.

``He's been making some adjustments,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``He's working more efficiently. He's not going down there (to the batting cage) and taking mindless swings and pounding the ball. He's settling into a comfort zone. This guy's going to hit.''

Fullmer, from Montclair Prep in Van Nuys, has no problem being an everyday DH, but playing in the field does have its advantages, he said.

``Sometimes it's good to take your attention off your at-bats if you're not swinging that well,'' Fullmer said. ``I'm not there yet. I'm trying to break a couple bad habits and work my way out of it. But I am swinging better.''

--Also: Garret Anderson's eight-game hitting streak ended Saturday when he went 0 for 4. ... During their eight-game winning streak, the Angels outscored their opponents 75-23, batted .334 and had a team ERA of 2.22.

ANGELS vs. TORONTO

Time: 10:05 a.m., SkyDome

TV/Radio: No TV; 830-AM, 1090-AM (Spanish)

Matchup: RH Ramon Ortiz (2-3, 2.55 ERA) will start for the Angels against Toronto RH Luke Prokopec (1-3, 7.01). In his past two starts, Ortiz has allowed one earned run in 16 innings against Seattle and Cleveland. The Angels are 8-3 against the AL Central and East this season, 6-12 against the AL West.

- Joe Haakenson

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ANGELS vs. TORONTO (see text)