ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The ability of the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels to feature relentless at-bats could spell trouble for Game 2 starters Kevin Appier and Russ Ortiz tonight at Edison Field.

	Ortiz

	Appier

With two of the game's toughest pitchers going in Game 1, Jason Schmidt and Jarrod Washburn, neither one could go longer than 5 2/3 innings. The Angels tend to foul pitches off and don't strike out much. Schmidt had to expend a tremendous amount of energy to get out of threats in the third, fourth and fifth innings. He only threw 92 pitches, but it seemed as if 75 came under great stress. And the Giants battled Washburn the same way, making him throw 106 pitches.

Appier doesn't have a reputation as a starter who will pitch deep into games. He hasn't gone longer than 5 1/3 innings in any of his three postseason starts. Ortiz can be good, yet he can also be erratic, as he was in his last start in the NLCS against St. Louis. The Angels are a patient hitting team that may take the walks and see if they can generate clutch hits.

The Game 2 home-plate umpire, Angel Hernandez, will never be accused off being a pitcher's umpire. And while Appier wants hitters to chase pitches out of the strike zone instead of throwing strikes, Ortiz can get wild high. If Hernandez isn't calling strikes, pack a lunch because it may turn into a long game.

Although Ortiz needs to be on his game, I'm more worried about Appier, who hasn't pitched well in the postseason but needs to give Angels manager Mike Scioscia five strong innings.

The good news is that the Angels didn't have to use Francisco Rodriguez or Troy Percival. The toughest losses come when a team burns its bullpen in a losing effort. Scioscia knows both pitchers worked a lot in the first two rounds and should now be well rested. He should bring in both pitchers if it's at least a tie or one-run game. With a travel day coming Monday, he doesn't want them to go two more days without an appearance.

The Angels may have lost Game 1, but they did the same against New York and Minnesota in the previous two series. Plus, they lost 25 of 31 games to end the 2001 season, and 14 of 18 to start the 2002 season. In other words, they believe in themselves to come back from any deficit. But if Anaheim heads back to San Francisco down 2-0, that might be too much of a hole.

Meanwhile, the Giants have been a good road team in the playoffs, winning five of six games away from Pac Bell Park. And the Giants have been able to shut down the opposition with runners in scoring position. After the Angels' 1-for-8 effort in Game 1 with runners in scoring position, hitters are now 4-for-47 (.085) going back to the NLCS against St. Louis. If the Giants' pitchers continue that trend, they have a great chance to go to San Francisco with a 2-0 lead.

On paper, both teams look evenly matched in the seven-game series, but -- the way baseball works -- there is no guarantee that a sweep can't happen as well. Here are a few keys for both teams in Game 2:

San Francisco Giants
Patience against Appier: They have enough video on Appier to know he won't throw a fastball by hitters. He wants them to chase his splitter out of the zone. They need to be patient. The Giants have a good chance of scoring five runs against Appier. While Appier could come up with a jewel, based on what I've seen in the postseason, he is the weak link in the Angels' rotation.

Better at the top: The Giants can't continue to have their first three hitters -- Kenny Lofton, Rich Aurilia and Jeff Kent -- to go 0-for-11, as they did in Game 1, and then expect Barry Bonds, Reggie Sanders and J.T. Snow to pick them up all the time. The top three hitters need to produce, especially Kent, who has struggled. He hasn't driven in a run in eight games, while striking out 12 times in the postseason.

Anaheim Angels
Bring Ortiz down: The Angels will make sure Ortiz is getting the ball down in the zone. If he is throwing strikes, they will know early. But the Angels have to zone him down and lay off the high stuff.

Same approach: The Angels will continue to play the way Scioscia prefers -- one pitch, one out and one inning at a time. They will battle for 54 outs on offense and defense.

Dave Campbell, who was an infielder for eight seasons in the major leagues (1967-74), is an analyst for Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio.