AL ROUNDUP Appier dominates Devil Rays again

The Angels pitcher is 8-0 lifetime against Tampa Bay after the 6-1 win.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Lou Piniella still can't figure out Kevin Appier's mastery over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
For that matter, neither can Appier, who came within one strike of his first shutout since 2001, pitching the Anaheim Angels past the Devil Rays 6-1 Saturday night.
"About the only explanation I have is he outthinks us," Piniella said after Appier improved to 8-0 lifetime against Tampa Bay, giving up eight hits while walking one and striking out four.
"He knows how to pitch. But to have that type of domination, and not striking out too many hitters, he must know what we're thinking when we come up to home plate."
Travis Lee hit an RBI double on a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning for Tampa Bay's only run.
Nearly complete game
Appier (4-2) came close to his first complete game since Sept. 25, 2001, when he beat the Montreal Expos 2-0 while pitching for the New York Mets.
After Lee doubled, Francisco Rodriguez relieved and got the final out.
Manager Mike Scioscia's decision to go to the bullpen didn't surprise the right-hander.
"After the eighth, he goes, 'You have 10 pitches to finish the game,"' Appier said. "But after the run scored, I expected him to be out there."
Benji Gil had two RBIs, while Chone Figgins went 2-for-4, drove in one run, stole two bases and scored three times for the Angels.
The victory was just the fourth in the last 10 games for the World Series champions, who went 13-13 in May.
Tampa Bay starter Joe Kennedy (3-5) left after one inning because of stiffness in his left shoulder. The Devil Rays said a preliminary examination by a team doctor determined the injury was not serious.
"We did the right thing getting him out of the ballgame," Piniella said. "Let's hope it's not serious."
Figgins tripled and scored on Tim Salmon's sacrifice fly in the first.
Figgins walked and scored on Garret Anderson's double in the third, then added a RBI single off Nick Bierbrodt in the fourth.
The speedy Figgins stole second and third base in the fourth before racing home on Bierbrodt's wild pitch to make it 5-0.
"You can't do much more than Figgie did tonight," Scioscia said. "He obviously set the table. He did everything you could ask a guy to do hitting in front of the core of your lineup."
Second time in a week
Appier beat the Devil Rays for the second time in a week. He limited them to one run on four hits in six innings at Edison Field last Sunday and was even better this time, working out of jams with runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and sixth innings.
Julio Lugo doubled off the right-hander in the first, but was stranded when Aubrey Huff flied to left and Rocco Baldelli struck out. Appier balked in the fourth, moving runners to second and third before retiring Ben Grieve and Al Martin to escape.
The Devil Rays threatened again in the sixth when Huff and Baldelli singled with one out. Appier avoided further damage when Grieve grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In eight career starts against Tampa Bay, Appier has 1.71 ERA, allowing 11 earned runs in 58 innings. He's at a loss to explain the success, though.
"I definitely haven't approached them from a cocky or overconfident angle at all because they have good hitters," Appier said. "They can beat up on you any given day. Fortunately it just worked out the way it has."
Notes
Bierbrodt allowed four runs and five hits in five innings, the longest outing by a Tampa Bay reliever this year. ... Anaheim's Troy Glaus snapped an 0-for-14 streak with a second-inning single. ... Figgins made his first major league start in the outfield, replacing Anderson in left field. Anderson was the designated hitter. ... Kennedy's scheduled start had been pushed two days for extra bullpen work with pitching coach Chris Bosio. ... Sunday's scheduled starting pitcher for the Angels, Aaron Sele, has been tough on the Devil Rays, too. He's 6-0 with a 4.67 ERA against them lifetime.
ANAHEIMTAMPA BAY
abrhbiabrhbi
Eckstin ss3000MAndn 2b4000
Figgins lf4321Lugo ss3010
Salmon rf1111Huff dh4010
Spiezio 1b0000Baldelli cf4020
GAndsn dh5021Grieve rf4110
Glaus 3b5120AMrtin lf4000
Wooten 1b2000TLee 1b4011
DVnon rf1010Vlentin c4000
BGil 2b4002Easley 3b3020
JMolna c4010
Owens cf4110
Totals336105Totals34181
Anaheim111200100--6
Tampa Bay000000001--1
E--Grieve (1). DP--Anaheim 1, Tampa Bay 2. LOB--Anaheim 10, Tampa Bay 7. 2B--GAnderson (19), Lugo (1), Grieve (3), TLee (13). 3B--Figgins (1). SB--Figgins 2 (3), Glaus (6). S--Eckstein. SF--Salmon, BGil.
IPHRERBBSO
Anaheim
Appier W,4-28 2-381114
FRodriguez1-300000
Tampa Bay
JKennedy L,3-5111100
Bierbrodt554334
Venafro341110
HBP--by Venafro (Eckstein), by Bierbrodt (Salmon), by Bierbrodt (Wooten). WP--Bierbrodt 2. Balk--Appier. Umpires--Home, Marty Foster; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Charlie Reliford; Third, Mike Fichter. T--2:36. A--14,546.