SAN FRANCISCO Frankie Rodriguez has breath and blood and heart and guts and everything else that makes his Angels teammates fallible.
It’s true. Despite his otherworldly postseason, motored by an arm that throws baseballs in ways that defy physics, Rodriguez is not a machine. He makes mistakes. He even, believe it or not, gives up runs.
His first one of the World Series arrived by way of a single that had his catcher wondering if he made the right call for Rodriguez. David Bell’s base hit in the eighth scored J.T. Snow with the winning run for the San Francisco Giants in a 4-3 victory over the Angels in Game 4 on Wednesday at Pac Bell Park.
The Series is even at two games apiece and will return for at least a Game 6 on Saturday at Edison Field after Game 5 tonight at Pac Bell.
Rodriguez also lost for the first time in six October decisions.
“I think he’s human,” catcher Bengie Molina said.
But it was Molina who talked about his own failures in the decisive inning. Rodriguez had retired the Giants in order in the seventh, including getting Barry Bonds to ground to first, to preserve the 3-3 tie.
Snow led off with a single to right. Then, on the first pitch to Reggie Sanders, the ball glanced off Molina’s glove and rolled behind him, giving Snow second. That became the fatal flaw.
“I just missed it,” Molina said. “I take the blame. I had a horrible game. My individual play was the one that cost us the game.”
Sanders then attempted to bunt but instead popped foul, and Scott Spiezio made a diving catch. Bell came to the plate.
“I thought a pitch inside would be good,” Rodriguez said. “I left it right over the middle.”
Bell didn’t miss it. Molina again pointed the finger at himself.
“I second-guessed myself,” Molina said. “I wanted to call a slider. I thought if I got a fastball, we might get him. But he’s a fastball hitter, and he made us pay.”
The game was the third that was de cided by one run. None of the Angels was surprised Rodriguez, who retired all 12 batters he’d faced in the World Series before Snow singled, was the one who gave it up — no matter how untouchable he’s been.
“I don’t know what you expect out of the guy,” starter John Lackey said. “It’s going to happen eventually.”
More stunning was the Angels’ offensive refrigeration after the third inning. The Angels had pounded the Giants for 16 hits in a 10-4 victory in Game 3. But the Giants faced the minimum after the third Wednesday, with the Angels managing just three singles. Each time, the runner was erased by an inning-ending double play, including one to end the game.
“You can’t count on getting 16 hits every night,” third baseman Troy Glaus said.
Right fielder Tim Salmon thought he had a chance to break through in the eighth. He drove the ball deep to right-center field to lead off. But Kenny Lofton tracked it down.
“I thought I might have hit it good enough to get it over his head,” Salmon said. “That’s frustrating. If it drops, I could have been standing on third base. It could have turned the game around. I’m going to be dreaming about that one.”
Glaus hit the only shot that left the park Wednesday. He hit a two-run homer to give the Angels a 3-0 lead in the third. It was his seventh homer in the playoffs, tying him with Bonds for the postseason record.
The Giants instead beat the Angels at their own little-ball game.
Lackey had base runners on in each of his five innings, except for the fourth. Lackey couldn’t solve Giants leadoff hitter Lofton or No. 2 hitter Rich Aurilia. They went 6 for 6 against him, but they didn’t burn him until the fifth.
Giants starter Kirk Rueter started off the inning when he reached on a ball that didn’t make it to the mound, landing between Lackey and Molina.
“I thought it was going to bounce to Lackey, but it bounced back to me,” Molina said. “That’s why I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Lofton then bunted. The ball bumped along the third-base line while Glaus hopped along next to it. It rolled foul and Glaus grabbed for it. But by the time he snatched it, the ball had somehow rolled back fair.
“I was a tick slow,” Glaus said. “It rolled back over by an eighth of an inch. Once it got off the line, I didn’t think it would get back. It snuck back over.”
Jeff Kent then flied to right. The ball was hit so high, it was buffeted a bit by the wind. Salmon knew he probably wouldn’t have a play at home to get Lofton. Once he caught it, Salmon threw it in as fast as he could, completely missing the cutoff man. The ball went bouncing by the plate, giving Aurilia second.
Up came Bonds, who was intentionally walked for the third time. The strategy worked perfectly in his first two walks, as Benito Santiago grounded into double plays both times.
This time, Santiago knocked the ball into center field, scoring Aurilia to tie it at 3-3.
