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Escobar dominant as Angels down Twins

Jun 6, 2007 - 5:42 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- It's no secret the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim like home cooking. But it seems to be their pitchers that do the most feasting.

Kelvim Escobar pitched a three-hitter and rookie Reggie Willits scored twice as the Angels posted a 5-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

Anaheim, which improved to 24-8 at Angel Stadium, is third in the majors in home ERA at 3.04, as opposed to their road ERA of 4.49.

"We just seem to play more consistent baseball here," Willits said.

Escobar (7-3) yielded one run with three walks and four strikeouts to record his ninth complete game of his career. The righthander threw just 107 pitches - including 77 for strikes - and set down the final 10 hitters he faced.

"I had good stuff out their today, but my last complete game (May 10 against Cleveland) I pitched was the best game I ever threw," Escobar said. "I was finding the strike zone, used all my pitches and kept them off-balance."

Willits walked to lead off the game, moved to third on Orlando Cabrera's single and scored on Vladimir Guerrero's double-play groundout to put the Angels up, 1-0, against Twins starter Scott Baker (1-1).

In the bottom of the third, the fleet-footed Willits drew a walk, stole his 14th base of the season and scored two batters later on Guerrero's RBI single to increase the Anaheim advantage to 2-0.

"I just try to do whatever I need to do to get on base because I know the guys behind me will hit me in," Willits said.

Cabrera and Chone Figgins each had two hits and drove in a run for the Angels, who have won each of their five contests in June.

"My bat is finally coming around and it feels good to help contribute to some of the wins," Figgins said. "I think I started off slow because I started the season injured, but I'm starting to find my groove."

In addition to excelling at home, Anaheim is building quite the reputation for jumping out early on their opponent. The Angels improved to 26-5 in games in which they score in the first frame and 29-7 in contests in which they score first.

Baker allowed five runs and eight hits with three walks and four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings for Minnesota, which has dropped four straight games following a five-game winning streak.

"He (Baker) didn't throw that bad," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Baker. "He got himself into some tough situations and did what he could do to minimize damage."

Torii Hunter hit a solo homer in the fifth for the Twins' lone run.

"I knew he was getting in a good rhythm so I just told myself that I was going to go after the first pitch and I got good wood on it," Hunter said. "Against a guy like Kelvim, you have to get to him early because if he settles into the game you see what he can do."