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 The Angels' career RBI leader extended his streak to a club-record 11 games with at least one RBI, knocking in three runs and leading Los Angeles past the Cleveland Indians 10-3 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between AL division leaders.
Anderson's streak broke the previous club mark shared by Fred Lynn and Wally Joyner.
"As I've said all along, there's a lot of great players who played in this organization that just didn't play as long as I have," Anderson said. "It's just a tribute to my being here for my whole career. That's really what I attribute it to, because I have a lot of respect for the players who were here before me.
"I was just glad that the actual RBI that broke the record meant something."
Anderson hit an RBI single to spark a four-run fifth inning against former teammate Paul Byrd, then hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Juan Lara. The three-time All-Star has nine of his 15 homers in the last 16 games.
"This guy's just doing what he's capable of doing," Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher said. "A lot of it is just being healthy. His body's allowing him to do that. You know when he's going to go good by the way he's running. And right now, he's running as good as I've ever seem him. He's feeling pretty good about himself. I'm telling you, I've seen his swing at its best
-- and he's at it right now. It's fun to watch."
In other AL games, it was Detroit 3, Chicago White Sox 2, and Boston 7, Baltimore 6.
When Lynn had his streak of 10 straight games with an RBI in 1984, he finished that season with 79 in 142 games. Joyner had 100 in 154 games during the 1986 season. Anderson has 68 RBIs, but he has missed 46 games this season during two stints on the disabled list.
Anderson has 21 RBIs during his current streak, which began five games after he set another team record with his 10 RBIs in an 18-9 victory over the Yankees on Aug. 21. The extra work in the underground batting cage has worked wonders.
"I've never seen him go through a period of time before where he's come down to that batting cage every day," Hatcher said. "I threw to him down in the cage today and I said, 'G.A., you're scaring me. I can't throw that ball anywhere because you're just raking it.' He just laughed and walked out. So he's got that little cocky good feeling about himself. And that's good to see."
Kelvim Escobar (16-7) allowed three runs and eight hits through 5 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck out eight, walked three and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third by fanning Indians RBI leader Victor Martinez.
"The key for me was being able to minimize damage," Escobar said. "You just have to stay within yourself, not give in and keep making good pitches."
Casey Kotchman broke out of a 4-for-33 skid with two hits and three RBIs for the Angels, who increased their AL West lead over the idle Seattle Mariners to eight games and matched their largest margin of the season. But right fielder Vladimir Guerrero didn't play because of inflammation in his right triceps.
Cleveland's second loss in 13 games, coupled with Detroit's win, reduced the Indians' lead over Detroit in the AL Central to six games.
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Byrd (14-6) was charged with five runs and eight hits over 4 2-3 innings after winning his previous four starts.
When Anderson got to first base on his RBI single, the crowd of 41,720 gave him a standing ovation. He acknowledged fans by doffing his helmet.
"He's just a quiet superstar," Byrd said. "He never draws attention to himself. He could be a bigger name if he did that, but he doesn't. He just goes about his business very quietly and very gentlemanly. He's on my all-underrated team."
Red Sox 7, Orioles 6
At Baltimore, Red Sox pinch-hitter Jason Varitek singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, and Boston got home runs from David Ortiz and Coco Crisp.
Crisp had three hits and scored three runs to help the Red Sox extend their AL East lead to 6 1/2 games over the idle New York Yankees. Boston has been in first place for 142 games, its longest streak since 1986.
The Orioles' 10th straight loss at home matched the team record set in 1954
-- the club's first season in Baltimore -- according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Baltimore got a home run from Kevin Millar and three hits from Tike Redman, but lost for the 14th time in 16 games.
Crisp led off the ninth with an infield hit off Danys Baez (0-6). He stole second and came home when Varitek lined a single to left.
Boston rookie Clay Buchholz (3-0), who pitched a no-hitter Saturday against Baltimore in his previous appearance, threw three scoreless innings of relief for the win. Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 34th save.
Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield allowed six runs and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings, matching his shortest outing of the season. It was the first time in 27 starts this season the knuckle-baller didn't receive a decision; his streak of 26 games was longest in the majors since Jack McDowell had 27 in 1993.
Baltimore ended Wakefield's run of 22 straight scoreless innings with a run in the first.
Tigers 3, White Sox 2
At Detroit, Sean Casey and Placido Polanco hit run-scoring singles off All-Star closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning, leading Detroit over Chicago in Gary Sheffield's return from the disabled list.
The Tigers, who closed within three games of the AL wild card-leading Yankees, trailed 2-1 entering the ninth. Sheffield, who hadn't played since Aug. 21 because of an injured shoulder, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk.
Bobby Seay (3-0) pitched a perfect ninth as Detroit got its second straight last at-bat win over the White Sox following five straight losses to Chicago. Jenks (3-5) blew a save for the sixth time in 43 chances.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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