Howell Gets a Homer, Then the Hook

On the surface, Jack Howell seemed to be enjoying a good month.

He was hitting .383 in the 17 games preceding Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Anaheim Stadium. But that hot spell was starting to cool off, as Howell was suffering through a 2-for-18 slump.

Tuesday, Howell looked as if he might be getting hot again, and against an unlikely opponent--a left-hander.

Howell got the Angels started against Mike Flanagan with a two-out home run to right field in the third inning. It was only his third homer in two seasons against left-handers. The solo shot cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 3-1. The Angels added two more runs in the fifth to tie the score, 3-3.

Howell’s problems against left-handers throughout his career (.153 lifetime coming into this season) can be attributed to the fact that he rarely faces them. As a platoon player last season, he had only 73 at-bats against lefties and hit a sparse .123.

This year--Howell’s first as a regular member of the Angels’ starting lineup--things haven’t been much better. Entering Tuesday’s game, he was hitting only .200 against lefties, with 17 hits in 85 at-bats. Not exactly confidence-inspiring numbers.

Still, he burned Flanagan, driving a 1-2 pitch deep into the right-field seats. He also singled off reliever Duane Ward, a right-hander, in the seventh and scored the tying run as the Angels rallied from a 6-3 deficit with three runs in the inning.

Despite his home run, Howell was pulled for a pinch-hitter when the Angels tried to rally for a third time in the eighth.

With the score still tied, Dick Schofield lined a two-out single to right field. Bob Boone then walked, setting up a game-winning situation.

But not for Howell.

With John Cerutti, another left-hander, on the mound, Manager Cookie Rojas pulled Howell in favor of George Hendrick, a right-handed batter.

Blue Jays Manager Jimy Williams, in turn, pulled Cerutti for right-handed reliever Tom Henke. Rojas then sent up Jim Eppard, who flied to right to end the inning.

“It had nothing to do with Jack facing a left-hander,” Rojas said. “It was a matter of trying to get a pitcher out of the game. At that point, it wasn’t going to take a home run to win it.”

Of course, in pulling Howell to get to Henke, the Angels were facing a relief pitcher who had already recorded 17 saves this season, not to mention his 2.29 earned-run average. Cerutti, on the other hand, has no saves and a 4.40 ERA.

“Eppard is a good contact hitter, and that’s what we need right there,” Rojas said.

So, it may take more than one good swing for Howell to reverse his image.