Angels Can’t Cure Sputter

Roger Clemens beat the Angels Wednesday, and in that there is no shame. The guy needs three more victories for 300, and the Hall of Fame is awaiting his arrival.

But Clemens was not responsible for the poor pitching and poor fielding that plagued the Angels yet again, the latest in a disturbingly recurrent series of shoddy displays of baseball.

The Angels compounded their usual inability to hit Clemens with crummy fundamentals of their own, and so there was neither suspense nor artistry in the 9-2 beating administered by the New York Yankees before 38,340 at Edison Field.

The Angels are spared from chasing the Yankees in the American League East, but they fell into a last-place tie in the AL West on Wednesday in part because of alarming trends that show no sign of reversing themselves.

“It’s very simple,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “First of all, our starting pitching has to pick up.”

Mickey Callaway failed to survive the fifth inning and still gave up 10 hits, the most of any Angel starter in a season in which the starters have posted a 6.31 earned-run average. Callaway’s ERA rose to 5.75, still better than that of rotation mainstays Kevin Appier, John Lackey and Ramon Ortiz.

“We’re the reason we’re not playing well,” Callaway said, “but we’re taking that into the game and putting too much pressure on ourselves. You can’t pitch like that.”

Clemens gave up six hits over eight innings, striking out six and walking none. The Yankees (18-3) won their seventh consecutive game, with Alfonso Soriano collecting four of their 18 hits, Jorge Posada driving in four runs and Yankee starters improving their record to 16-0.

The Angels (9-12) trailed from the fourth pitch of the evening, hit by Soriano over the left-field fence. Neither Callaway nor his defenders shined in that first inning, in which Callaway gave up three hits and a walk, second baseman Adam Kennedy threw wide to first base on a would-be double play and center fielder Eric Owens bobbled one ground ball and broke hesitantly toward a fly ball that sailed over his head.

And neither Callaway nor his defenders got better. Callaway gave up three home runs, walked four with no strikeouts, dropped a ball covering first base and nearly threw a pickoff attempt into the outfield. Catcher Bengie Molina committed a passed ball.

The Angels trailed 2-0 after one inning, 4-0 after three and 6-0 after five. By the time the game was done, the Angels had used both of the minor league relievers promoted earlier in the day, Rich Rodriguez and Derrick Turnbow.

“We’re having to come back too many times for what you can really expect an offense to overcome,” Scioscia said.

While Callaway was not expected to be an integral part of the Angel rotation, filling in for the rehabilitating Aaron Sele, Lackey was.

In four of his five starts this season, Lackey has failed to last beyond the fifth inning, and his ERA is 8.51. The Yankees roughed him up Tuesday for seven runs in three innings, the shortest start of his brief major league career, and Lackey said his performance “makes me want to puke.” But scouts say his stuff and velocity are good and that he will be fine once he recovers his ability to pitch to spots.

Pitching coach Bud Black said Lackey would continue to start every fifth game. Black said he reviewed video and detected a small adjustment in Lackey’s delivery that will be addressed during a workout today.

“It all comes down to execution,” Black said. “He’s not making the critical pitch when he needs to make it. I have all the confidence he’s going to.”