Glaus, Pritchett Get First Homers
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Troy Glaus and Chris Pritchett hit their first major league home runs Sunday. Both would have traded them for a victory.
“It’s nice to get that first one over with,” said Glaus after a 6-4 loss to Toronto. “I’d rather have the win.”
For Glaus, it was the one bright spot in a lost weekend at the plate. He struck out 10 times in 18 at bats.
Glaus struck out in the second inning and hit into a double play in the fifth Sunday. But in the seventh he lifted the first pitch from Chris Carpenter into the Angels’ bullpen.
“It’s nice and I want to do what I can to help the team score runs,” Glaus said. “But I have to keep it in perspective.”
Glaus, who struck out in the ninth, hit 35 home runs in half a season in the minor leagues before being called up on July 31. He entered Sunday’s game in a two-for-21 streak.
The Angels would like to see more power from Pritchett, who launched a two-run homer into the second deck in the ninth. He is a solid first baseman and hits well, but has not shown the ability to hit 25 to 30 home runs.
“I’ve shown the power, but I haven’t shown the consistency,” said Pritchett, whose minor league high for home runs was 16 in 1996. “I’ll hit five or six in a month and then won’t hit one for a month. I’d like to change that.”
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Glaus will face Chicago White Sox pitcher Jim Parque, his former UCLA teammate, tonight. In spring training Glaus faced Parque and hit a 420-foot double off the center-field fence and a 420-foot home run.
“I never got a hit off him during batting practice at UCLA,” Glaus said.
Said Parque: “I had a pretty good day going until Troy got up.”
ON DECK
* Opponent--Chicago White Sox, two games.
* Site--Edison Field.
* Tonight--7 p.m.
* TV--Fox Sports West, both games.
* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).
* Records--Angels 66-57, White Sox 55-66.
* 1998 record vs. White Sox--4-6.
ANGELS’ STEVE SPARKS (6-2, 4.62 ERA) vs. WHITE SOX’S JIM PARQUE (3-4, 5.26 ERA)
* Update--Tonight begins a homestand that precedes the Angels’ most difficult road trip of the season--five games in New York, two in Boston and two in Cleveland. Jack McDowell returns to the starting rotation on Wednesday and Ken Hill, who has a rehab start Tuesday, could be back by the weekend.
Tuesday, 7 p.m.--Chuck Finley (9-5, 2.91) vs. John Snyder (3-1, 5.79)
