Davis’ Anger Ignites Angels

TORONTO — Chili Davis found a more constructive outlet for his anger Saturday, bashing baseballs at the Skydome instead of drinking fountains.

The Angel designated hitter led an 18-hit outburst with his 20th home run of the season, a double, two singles and three runs batted in as the Angels ended a five-game skid with an 11-6 thrashing of the Toronto Blue Jays before a crowd of 32,139.

Mark Langston (6-4) pitched eight strong innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits and striking out five, to earn his first victory since June 20.

Garret Anderson equaled a career high with four hits and one run batted in; Randy Velarde had three hits; Jim Edmonds had two hits and two RBIs; Tim Salmon had two hits and two runs; and George Arias and Jorge Fabregas each had two RBIs for the Angels, who hadn’t won in a week.

But it was Davis who had a hand in all but one of the innings that the Angels scored, homering to left field to start a two-run fourth , singling during a four-run fifth, singling in the only run of the sixth and doubling in a run to cap a three-run ninth.

The key, Davis said, was he came to the park still fuming about Friday night’s loss, in which he was picked off first in the sixth inning. The Angels had runners on first and third with no outs, but didn’t score.

“It was a minor-league effort,” Davis said. “I didn’t swing the bat like I should have, and I wanted to be more aggressive today.”

Like he was in the tunnel between the Angel dugout and clubhouse Friday night, when the one-sided bout that was Davis vs. Drinking Fountain broke out. After getting picked off, Davis attacked the fountain “like a wrecking ball,” pitcher Chuck Finley said.

“He really went after it. He kicked it with his feet about three times . . . if he hits the ball like he hit that water cooler, we’ll be OK.”

Asked about the incident, Davis feigned surprise.

“That water cooler?” Davis said. “That thing just fell.”

Uh, then what about the picture in Saturday’s Toronto Sun, the one showing a battered drinking fountain dangling from the wall?

“Hey, I just walked by and it read my mind,” Davis said. “It said, ‘I know you’re gonna bash me in, so I’m just going to fall.’ I’m innocent.”

This wasn’t the first time Hurricane Chili ran aground. Davis put a huge dent in the team’s Anaheim Stadium clubhouse drinking fountain last season and eventually tore it off the wall. He also mangled a storage cabinet in Milwaukee in 1995.

“I get in my moods, you know how I am,” Davis said. “But when I’m upset, I block out more things and I perform. If I could tick myself off every day, I’d be better off.”

So would the Angels. They’ve been passive this past week and were swept in a three-game series by the lowly Detroit Tigers, but they seemed to take their cue from Davis on Saturday, attacking Toronto pitchers Scott Brow, Tony Castillo and Marty Janzen with vigor.

After Toronto took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth, the Angels countered with four runs in the fifth, the key being Arias’ two-run single, which came after he fouled off three 2-2 pitches.

Fabregas, who hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, capped the fifth with an RBI double over right fielder Jacob Brumfield’s glove, giving the Angel catcher his first multiple-RBI game of the season.

Davis, who reached the 20-homer mark for the ninth time in 15 big league seasons, singled off the right-field wall in the top of the sixth to give the Angels a 7-4 lead.

J.T. Snow’s sacrifice fly made it 8-4 in the ninth, and the Angels put the game away in the ninth, which was highlighted by Edmonds’ hard-hit, two-run double and Davis’ RBI double into the right-center field gap.

Manager Marcel Lachemann also helped sustain the Angels’ aggressive approach, giving several players green lights on 3-0 counts.

“We did a good job of using the whole field--that makes a big difference,” Lachemann said. “And Chili decided to attack the baseball.”

What remained of the drinking fountain was removed before Sunday’s game, leaving a rectangle-shaped shadow on the wall, but Davis said he hadn’t yet been billed for the damage.

“Whatever it is,” he said, “it better be in Canadian dollars.”