Percival Plays It Cool

Baseball players are a notoriously superstitious bunch. So it was no real surprise that Angel closer Troy Percival, who has been as dominant lately as he has been at any time in his career, stared straight ahead, broke into a sheepish grin and said, “I’m pitching OK,” when asked by a group of reporters to discuss his recent run.

Seconds later, he blinked, turned the questioning around and looked up from his stool.

“What,” he asked the gathering, “are you trying to put the kibosh on me?”

Though Percival was half-joking, his pitching has been anything but a joke to opposing hitters.

Percival, who has six saves in August with an 0.96 earned-run average, saved three of the Angels’ five victories on their recent 5-1 home stand against Detroit and Cleveland, giving him 30 saves. It is the fifth consecutive year he has saved at least 30 games and the sixth time in his eight-year career.

He had three saves as a rookie in 1995, when he served as Lee Smith’s understudy, and 27 in 1997, when he spent 40 days on the disabled list.

Percival already has had two stints on the disabled list this season, though neither was related to his right (pitching) arm.

In Friday night’s 5-4 victory over the Indians, a team that has dealt Percival eight of his 30 losses, Percival struck out the side with overpowering fastballs to end the game.

Sunday night, he finished off the Indians on eight pitches, hitting 97 mph on the radar gun three times.

“I think that Percy’s shown that his stuff is as good as it’s ever been,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “I know our goal is to have him maintain that and he’s shown that he’s been able to. He’s shown he can maintain it for not only consecutive nights but over the course of a whole season.”

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The Angels’ trip to New York will be the team’s first since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and Scioscia anticipates a moving visit.

“We’re approaching the one-year anniversary and it’s going to be a very emotional time,” he said. “It’s going to be an emotional experience for whoever gets the opportunity to [visit ground zero]. I haven’t decided if I am or not. I don’t know if our schedule is going to really permit it.

“It’s emotional and I think it’s going to be that way for a long [time] to come. It’s a tragedy that transcends, I think, a lot of things that people have experienced in this country as far as our generation.”

As far as playing the Yankees, who probably would be a first-round opponent if the Angels win the American League wild card, and the Boston Red Sox, who are chasing the Angels for the wild-card spot, Scioscia said his team would approach each game one at a time.

“I think these guys have a lot of confidence,” he said. “This group of guys has taken that East Coast trip and we’ve played well in the past there. Why? I don’t know? I don’t think there’s any reason why.”

The Angels’ .524 winning percentage (11-10) against the Yankees since Scioscia took over is the second-best regular-season mark in the AL from opening day 2000 through Sunday. Only Seattle’s .607 percentage (17-11) is better.

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Angel starter Ramon Ortiz has been pitching with a heavy heart. With the health of his 77-year-old father, Alfonso Urena, failing in his hometown of Cotui, Dominican Republic, Ortiz has had a tough time focusing.

“Some days he’s fine and others he needs help breathing,” Ortiz said. “I don’t know if I have to go home.

“Your mother and father are the most important thing in your life.”

ON DECK

Opponent--New York Yankees, three games.

Site--Yankee Stadium.

Tonight--4 PDT.

TV--Channel 9, all three games (delayed tonight and Thursday, 5 p.m.); ESPN Wednesday.

Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

Records--Angels 74-49, Yankees 77-45.

Record vs. Yankees--2-2.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ AARON SELE

(8-8, 4.72)

vs.

YANKEES’ ANDY PETTITTE

(7-4, 3.09)

Update--The right-handed Sele, a career American Leaguer who joined the Angels as a free agent Dec. 26, has had better numbers in his career against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium than in his home parks. In 20 games against New York, Sele is 5-8 with a 4.05 ERA, but is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA in the Bronx.

Wednesday, 10 a.m.--Ramon Ortiz (10-9, 4.22) vs. Orlando Hernandez (6-3, 3.54).

Thursday, 4 p.m.--John Lackey (5-2, 3.11) vs. David Wells (13-6, 4.22).