Watson Plays Role of Stopper

He doesn’t have the fancy 10-game winning streak, and his name is not plastered all over the Angel record book, but Allen Watson has been only a shade less consistent--and dominant--than ace Chuck Finley the last two months.

And there’s no shame in that.

The Angels’ other left-hander came through with another solid effort Friday night to lead the Angels to an 8-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox before 24,977 in Anaheim Stadium.

Watson (11-7) gave up four runs--three earned--on eight hits and struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings, ending the Angels’ losing streak at three, spoiling Bret Saberhagen’s first start in almost two years and keeping the Angels within 2 1/2 games of Seattle in the AL West.

Watson, who survived a collision with first baseman Darin Erstad in the third inning, is 6-3 with a 3.21 earned-run average in his last 13 starts since June 23, and he has given up three earned runs or less in 10 of those starts.

He was tagged for home runs by Red Sox rookie Nomar Garciaparra in the first (solo) and third (two-run) innings Friday night and now leads the major leagues in home runs allowed with 27, but that has hardly diminished from his performance this season.

Watson struck out Boston slugger Mo Vaughn three times but tired in the seventh, leaving with two on and two out. Reliever Pep Harris walked Jeff Frye to load the bases, but Mike Holtz came on to strike out pinch-hitter Scott Hatteberg, who looked at three breaking balls, to end the inning.

Holtz added a scoreless eighth before giving up a homer to Vaughn in the ninth. Troy Percival came on to retire Hatteberg on a game-ending groundout for his 21st save.

The Angels broke open a 5-3 game with a three-run, sixth-inning rally that began with bunt singles by Chad Kreuter and Gary DiSarcina. Rickey Henderson’s walk--and subsequent dispute over ball-and-strike calls by Boston Manager Jimy Williams--led to Williams’ first ejection of the season.

Tony Phillips then drilled a two-run single up the middle, which sent Henderson to third, and Erstad brought Henderson home with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 8-3.

Through four innings, it was Angels 4, Garciaparra 3, the Angels scoring four times in the first and the Red Sox scoring all of their runs on Garciaparra homers, the second of which gave the former St. John Bosco star 23 homers this season and the major league record for rookie shortstops.

The two-run homer also followed a mishap that almost cost the Angels another key player in a week in which they lost catcher Todd Greene (broken bone in his right wrist) for the season and Finley (sprained left wrist) for at least a week.

Darren Bragg opened the third with a popup between the mound, home plate and first base, and Watson, thinking Kreuter nor Erstad would make the play, called it himself.

But Erstad, the former Nebraska punter, apparently didn’t hear Watson and crashed into him as the pitcher tried to make the catch. The ball fell to the ground and so did Watson, who remained on his back for several scary moments. But Watson got up, threw a few warmup pitches and was OK.

Watson escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, caused in part by a runaway fastball that hit Bragg in the helmet. The impact sent Bragg sprawling and opened up a gash above his right eye, but the Red Sox right fielder walked to the clubhouse under his own power. He was taken to Anaheim Memorial Hospital for stitches.

The Angels nearly delivered a similar blow in the first to Saberhagen, who hadn’t pitched since Game 4 of the 1995 National League Division Series for Colorado because of shoulder injuries.

The inning was a 40-pitch labor for Saberhagen, who gave up RBI doubles to Phillips, Dave Hollins and Garret Anderson, a walk, a hit batsman and a wild pickoff attempt, which resulted in a run.

But Saberhagen found a groove in the second, harnessing his tailing fastball and mixing in a few more breaking balls, and the right-hander held the Angels hitless through the fourth.

With Saberhagen’s pitch count at 86, Williams pulled him in favor of left-hander Butch Henry to start the fifth.