Darin Erstad was hitless in his last 18 at-bats entering Monday night's game against Toronto, and there were no in-depth explanations or excuses for the first baseman's slump.
"I just stink right now, it's that simple," Erstad said before the game. "I'm swinging at their pitches, not mine. Everyone says you're going to go through stretches like this, but it's no time to panic. . . . I just have to try to do the little things to help the team."
Little things? Erstad was Mr. Big on Monday night, homering twice and knocking in a career-high five runs in the Angels' 12-10 loss to the Blue Jays. Erstad highlighted a three-run third with a two-run homer and broke a 7-7 tie with a three-run homer in the top of the eighth.
The Angels blew it in the bottom of the eighth, giving up five runs, but there was at least one encouraging sign--Erstad snapped out of his funk, and the Angels had 12 hits, the first time they reached double figures in 11 games.
