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GAME LOG
TORONTO (AP) -- David Wells is feeling the pressure of trying to
keep the Toronto Blue Jays in playoff contention.
Mo Vaughn and Garret Anderson homered off a struggling Wells,
and Matt Wise earned his first major league victory as the Anaheim
Angels defeated the Blue Jays 8-4 Tuesday night.
"Here we are in a pennant race, everybody is depending on me
and I'm going out there making mistake after mistake," Wells said.
"When you try too hard and aim the ball, that's when all hell
breaks loose."
Wells (17-5) is 2-3 with a 7.27 ERA in seven starts since
starting the All-Star Game.
"I was hot in the first half, and I loved it, but now that I
stink I just got to get through it," Wells said. "I haven't been
doing my job."
The 37-year-old left-hander, making his 300th career start,
allowed six runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He tied a season
high with three walks.
"He's been consistent for them all season, but everybody is not
going to be perfect at all times," said Vaughn, who has a .443
career average and eight home runs against Wells. "It's either do
or die with him. He always comes after me."
Ron Gant, who homered in the ninth inning, and Vaughn each drove
in three runs. Darin Erstad went 3-for-4, raising his major
league-leading hit total to 184, as Anaheim ended its five-game
road losing streak.
Wise (1-1) allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He
struck out two and walked three.
"I've been watching these hitters on SportsCenter for years,"
Wise said. "I'll remember this more because it came against
Wells."
Anderson hit a solo homer in the second. After Tim Salmon walked
in the fourth, Vaughn hit his 29th home run to give Anaheim a 3-0
lead.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the bottom half, but Gant
robbed Tony Batista off extra bases with a spectacular,
over-the-shoulder catch in left field. Gant crashed into the fence
and held on to the ball, leaving Batista with a sacrifice fly.
"I told myself there was no way I was not going to catch that
ball," Gant said. "When you make a catch like that, it takes the
wind out of the other team's sails."
After Wells loaded the bases in the fifth on two singles and a
walk, the Angels scored three runs on Vaughn's bases-loaded walk,
Gant's sacrifice fly and Anderson's RBI single.
Shannon Stewart cut Anaheim's lead to 6-3 in the fifth with a
two-run homer. The Blue Jays have hit 113 home runs at home, a new
club record.
Game notes
Wells allowed seven runs in his last start, a 15-7 win over
Kansas City. ... Stewart has 18 home runs, five in his last eight
games. ... Toronto RHP Frank Castillo was put on the 15-day
disabled list because of sprained right forearm muscles and a
sprained ligament in his right elbow. RHP Joey Hamilton, who had
shoulder surgery last September, replaces Castillo in the rotation.
Hamilton went 2-2 with a 3.66 ERA in six rehab starts at Triple-A
Syracuse and is to make his first major league start of the season
on Saturday. ... Gant hit his fourth homer in nine games for the
Angels.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Anaheim Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
Tampa Bay 3 Boston 1
Anaheim 8 Toronto 4
Chi. White Sox 14 Baltimore 4
Minnesota 6 Kansas City 2
NY Yankees 10 Texas 2
Oakland 5 Cleveland 3
Detroit 9 Seattle 0
St. Louis 4 Chicago Cubs 2
NY Mets 7 Colorado 5
NY Mets 4 Colorado 3
(2nd game)
Florida 7 Los Angeles 3
San Francisco 9 Montreal 7
Arizona 11 Philadelphia 6
Atlanta 3 San Diego 1
Houston 5 Pittsburgh 4
Milwaukee 2 Cincinnati 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
A slumping David Wells remains optimistic he can turn his losing streak around.
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