Bailes Works in Shooting Gallery

Former Angel pitcher Scott Bailes had a rough eighth inning Saturday, when they seemed to use him for target practice.

Things started well when Bailes struck out Darin Erstad. He then had to play dodge ball.

Craig Shipley lined ball off Bailes’ thigh, and third baseman Fernando Tatis fielded the ricochet and threw Shipley out. Jim Edmonds bounced a grounder off Bailes’ right foot for a infield hit. Tim Salmon walked and Garret Anderson followed with a chopper that glanced off Bailes’ glove for another infield hit.

Phil Nevin made a bad outing worse with a two-run single.

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The Angels and the Rangers have dipped into their minor league teams looking for pitching help.

The Angels brought up Jarrod Washburn, who is 3-0, and Saturday’s winner Steve Sparks, who is 2-0. The Rangers called up Matt Perisho, who gave up six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in his first start, and Todd Van Poppel, who lost his first start Saturday.

The Angels haven’t been hurt by losing three starting pitchers because of injuries. The replacements--Washburn, Sparks and Omar Olivares--are a combined 9-2 as starters.

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Angel Manager Terry Collins said he has never seen closer Troy Percival pitch better than in the last month.

Percival has given up no runs and only six base runners in his last 14 1/3 innings. He has 11 consecutive saves in that time.

“When his mechanics are good, it’s so easy for him,” Collins said. “It makes it easy for me to use him three or four days in a row because he doesn’t throw too many pitches.”

Percival said the secret is location, location, location.

“I’m putting pitches where I want,” he said. “You can have all the velocity you want, [but] it doesn’t help unless you know where the ball is going eight out of 10 times.”

*

The Angels and the Texas Rangers could make the playoffs, one as a wild-card team. Not that it’s worth mentioning to either manager.

“Don’t ever ask me about the wild card,” Collins said. “You’re just wasting your time. The only thing I’m thinking about is winning the division.

“It would be like looking over your shoulder. I don’t play for second place. I’ve been in second a lot, but I don’t play for it.”

Said Ranger Manager Johnny Oates: “Twos, threes and one-eyed jacks, that’s the only wild cards I know.”

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Former Angel Luis Alicea burned Collins again Friday. His fifth-inning home run wasn’t the first off a Collins team. He did it twice for St. Louis against Houston when Collins managed the Astros.

“We had a big series with the Cardinals and Luis beat us the first night with a homer, then tied the game the next night with a homer,” Collins said.

Friday’s homer broke a 1-1 tie in a 7-3 Texas victory.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ JASON DICKSON (7-4, 5.43 ERA)

vs.

RANGERS’ MATT PERISHO (0-1, 23.14 ERA)

Edison Field, 5 p.m.

Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090)

* Update--Perisho, one of six former Angels on the Texas roster, was considered a top prospect for the Angels a year ago. He was 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA after being called up last season. “I liked him last year and I still like him,” Collins said. “We needed a pitcher last season, and our organization said that Matt was the best one we had in the minor leagues. That was saying something, seeing how Jarrod Washburn is pitching for us this year.” Dickson is pitching with a broken right index finger, but Collins doesn’t want it to be an issue. “I’m worried that if he doesn’t pitch well, everyone will thing it’s because of his finger,” Collins said.

Tickets--(714) 634-2000.