Gary Disarcina

Angel starter Jarrod Washburn needed some Levine intervention Saturday night, and reliever Al Levine came through, getting out of a fourth-inning, bases-loaded, no-out jam that made Washburn's pitching line a lot less ugly than it could have been. Gary DiSarcina had no such help.

There are signs that shortstop Gary DiSarcina isn't too far from being back in form. DiSarcina, who returned from a broken bone in his left forearm on June 22, had five hits in 12 at-bats with four runs scored and two runs batted in in the three-game series against Oakland. He raised his average to .265. "It's still a matter of survival out there," DiSarcina said. "The more pitches I see, the better I get. I'm just trying to hit the ball in play."

Maybe, finally, the Angels have found the secret to some success. It's all in the timing. Wait until the eighth inning, then yank shortstop Gary DiSarcina. Strange, but effective. Friday's 4-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of 29,911 at Edison Field was the third time that formula has worked since DiSarcina returned to the lineup this week. And, at this point, the Angels will gladly become superstitious.

Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina heard about Manager Terry Collins' contract extension Tuesday, but he didn't have an opinion about it. "To be totally honest, that's the least of my worries," said DiSarcina, who played his first game of the season for the Angels Tuesday night. "My thoughts right now are how to get through this day. I just tried to condense spring training into nine days. I hope I have enough stamina." He didn't.

A team badly needing a spark, not to mention a shred of good news, will get both tonight when shortstop Gary DiSarcina, yet to play in 1999 because of a broken forearm, is activated for a three-game series in Seattle. DiSarcina was hitless in two at-bats of the Angels' 10-4, six-inning exhibition loss to their double-A team in Erie, Pa., Monday, and he flew to Seattle with the Angels after the game.

Gary DiSarcina got his first hit of the season. He started his first double play. He even booted his first ground ball. DiSarcina, out since Feb 21 because of a broken bone in his left forearm, made his season debut in a rehabilitation start for Class-A Lake Elsinore Thursday and wasn't quite ready to declare himself fit. "I'm definitely where I should be right now . . . A ball," DiSarcina said. "I can't take that stuff [to Anaheim]. It felt like I just picked up the game."

Dodger Manager Davey Johnson supported pitcher Chan Ho Park after a fight Saturday that led to Park's ejection during a 7-4 victory over the Angels. Park shoved his left forearm into the face of Angel starter Tim Belcher and kicked him during the incident that flared when Park took exception to Belcher's conduct on his sacrifice bunt. Park, trained in the martial art taekwondo, was angered because he felt Belcher tagged him uncommonly hard on his chest and made disrespectful comments.

If Garret Anderson, as he claims, is not a home run hitter, why is he on pace to hit 38 homers in 1999, an almost obscene figure for a guy whose career high is 16? Opponents haven't been pitching Anderson any differently. They're still feeding him fastballs, breaking balls and off-speed pitches away, throwing an occasional fastball inside for show. The difference is, some of those supposed brushback pitches haven't been brushing Anderson back.