Boskie Can Boast as Angels Win, 2-0

The Toronto Blue Jays, two-time defending World Series champions with one of baseball’s most potent lineups, were shut out Monday by the mighty Shawn Boskie.

Shawn who?

Not Shawn Buskie, as was announced in the SkyDome press box after the Angels’ 2-0 victory before 31,303.

It’s Shawn Boskie, who, if he pitches many more games such as Monday’s will have his name pronounced correctly and will stay in one place long enough for people to remember his name.

Boskie, 28, a right-hander who signed a minor league contract with the Angels this spring, had a busy 1994. He was traded by the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, and released by the Seattle Mariners.

He pitched well enough in exhibition games to earn the fifth spot in the Angels’ rotation--OK, you don’t need a sparkling resume for that job--and took a 23-35 record into the season.

The Blue Jays, on the other hand, countered with ace right-hander David Cone, winner of the 1994 Cy Young Award with a 16-5 record.

“I’m sure most people thought it was a slam-dunk for them,” Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann said.

But it wasn’t, as the Angels left Canada Monday night with three victories in four games against the Blue Jays. The Angels began the weekend with a 9-21 SkyDome record. “That should help our confidence, because this has kind of been a chamber of horrors for our club,” Lachemann said.

Boskie, mixing a curve, slider and fastball and keeping most of his pitches down in the strike zone, allowed only four hits and struck out four in eight innings. “He got ahead of the batters well and had a real sharp slider,” Lachemann said. “When he angles the ball down, he’s very difficult to hit.”

Boskie retired 11 in a row at one point, and 58 of his 84 pitches were strikes. He did not walk a batter before giving way to closer Lee Smith, who pitched a scary but scoreless ninth for his third save.

Boskie wasn’t on his first pitch of the game, which Devon White laced to left-center for a triple. The Angels had taken a 1-0 lead when Damion Easley singled, advanced on a passed ball, reached third on Garret Anderson’s ground-out and scored on Cone’s wild pitch, but Toronto appeared poised to tie.

“I conceded that run the minute he touched third,” Boskie said. “I just started concentrating on the next guy.”

Alex Gonzalez then grounded back to Boskie, who held White before throwing to first. Paul Molitor chopped a grounder to third, but White froze as Eduardo Perez threw Molitor out. Joe Carter then popped to catcher Andy Allanson, stranding White.

“It felt like I had kind of escaped,” Boskie said. “I felt lucky to get out of that jam.”

Tim Salmon increased the lead to 2-0 with a home run to center in the second inning, his third in five games and seventh in 10 games counting last season. Outfielder Tony Phillips, who began the game with a .125 average, had three singles, but the Angels managed only six hits.

Cone gave up five hits and struck out eight in seven innings but could not prevent the Angels from winning their first SkyDome series against the Blue Jays since early June 1991.

The victory also lifted the Angels (3-2) above the .500 mark for the first time since April 15, 1994, when they defeated the Blue Jays, 14-13, in Anaheim Stadium.

“It’s still too early in the season to attach much significance to this series, but the more you win, the better you feel, and the better chemistry you have,” Phillips said.

“Winning brings everyone together. Guys talk more, they rally around each other, pick each other up. When you lose, guys go their own ways. There’s whispering here and there, pointing fingers . . . that’s not good.”