MLB teams
TOR

3

21-17
5/16 - 10:05 PM ET LAA

8

17-22
Angel Stadium, Anaheim
18y

Vlad's blast powers Halos past Blue Jays

Anaheim Angels, Toronto Blue Jays

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Vladimir Guerrero and Orlando Cabrera
spoiled Bengie Molina's and Troy Glaus' return to Anaheim.

Guerrero hit a two-run homer and Cabrera was 3-for-4 with a
two-run single, leading the Los Angeles Angels to an 8-3 victory
over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

Molina and Glaus, both of whom were instrumental in the Angels'
2002 World Series title, returned to their old stomping grounds as
opponents for the first time and received a warm reception from the
crowd of 43,066.

The game featured a rarity -- a stolen base by both Molina
brothers. Jose Molina's two-out steal against former Angels
left-hander Scott Schoeneweis led to an RBI single by Adam Kennedy,
triggering a four-run rally that gave the Angels a 7-2 lead after
Toronto closed to 3-2 with a pair in the top half. It was Molina's
seventh stolen base in 278 career games.

"I had an idea he was going to running," Bengie said.
"Whenever you're playing back and the pitcher has a slow, high leg
kick to the plate, you've got to take advantage. And that's what
they did."

The Blue Jays' catcher was 2-for-4 in his first game back at
Angel Stadium since signing with Toronto in the offseason. In the
seventh inning, with the Blue Jays down by five runs, he stole
second base without drawing a throw from his brother. It was his
third steal in 742 big league games.

"That was something," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said with a
laugh. "What are the chances of both Molina's stealing a base on
the same night? What do you think the odds are on Las Vegas on that
one?"

No one was laughing when Glaus got hit by Ervin Santana's 2-2
pitch in his first at-bat. The 2003 World Series MVP eventually
came out in the third inning with a bruised left elbow. He was
taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays, which were negative.

"It was a two-seamer that broke too much. That's why he got
hit," Santana said. "But I don't want to hit nobody with two
strikes. I wanted to strike him out or get a flyball or a ground
ball."

Santana (4-1) allowed three runs -- two earned -- and five hits in
6 2-3 innings. The right-hander did not walk a batter while
striking out three.

Ted Lilly (4-3) allowed three runs, five hits and three walks in
4 1-3 innings.

Glaus, who signed with Arizona before last season and was traded
to Toronto this past winter, and Molina found their old team
banged-up and in last place in the AL West after consecutive
division titles. But the Angels climbed out of the cellar by virtue
of Santana's second straight victory and Seattle's loss at Oakland.

Los Angeles was missing center fielder Darin Erstad, on the
disabled list since May 1 because of an irritation in his right
ankle. Garret Anderson, experiencing hamstring and foot problems
since Saturday sat out. Anderson and Erstad are a combined 4-for-39
lifetime against Lilly.

Jose Molina drove in the game's first run with a bases-loaded
groundout. Guerrero homered to left-center in the third inning for
his 10th of the season after a leadoff single by Cabrera,
increasing the margin 3-0.

Toronto narrowed the gap to 3-2 in the sixth. Aaron Hill reached
on a fielding error by center fielder Chone Figgins and scored when
Alex Rios doubled over Figgins' head. Rios took third after Frank
Catalanotto's flyout and came home on a wild pitch.

But the Angels responded in the bottom half. The key blow was
Cabrera's got a two-run single off Justin Speier, whose wild pitch
to Juan Rivera allowed Cabrera to score.

Molina got a preview of the type of welcome he was going to
receive about a half-hour before the first pitch, when he started
walking across the outfield grass toward left field to play
long-toss with Lilly. Gradually, the cheers from the early arrivers
in the crowd got louder and louder and reached a crescendo when
Molina tipped his cap to them.

"That was their way of showing me they still remember me,"
Molina said. "They were showing me appreciation for all the years
that I was here playing in front of them. I wasn't expecting it,
but as soon as I heard it, it made me feel really good to here
those cheers. It's something very special and it touched me right
in the bottom of my heart."

Game notes
Anaheim Mighty Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer and brother
Rob threw out ceremonial first pitches. ... Blue Jays pitchers have
allowed 56 homers, tying Cincinnati for the most in the majors. ...
The Angels have a 4.23 ERA through 38 games. Last year with Bengie
Molina starting 100 games, they finished with a 3.68 mark, the
team's lowest in 16 years. ... The Blue Jays had four players from
the Angels' World Series team on their spring training roster,
including Schoeneweis and RHP Ben Weber.

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