Easy Doesn’t Do It

ARLINGTON, Texas — Reliever Brendan Donnelly is nicknamed “Donkey,” in part because the right-hander is on the stubborn side, and he lived up to that reputation again Tuesday night when he slipped into an old habit that is hard to break, even after 13 years of professional baseball.

With the Angels leading the Rangers, 9-3, in the sixth inning, Donnelly replaced struggling starter John Lackey with the bases loaded and none out. Donnelly escaped the jam, striking out Adrian Gonzalez and Gary Matthews and getting Rod Barajas to pop out, but he gave up three hits during a two-run seventh.

Esteban Yan then gave up three runs in the eighth, and the Angels were forced to use setup man Scot Shields for the fifth time in eight games, Shields recording the final four outs of a 13-8 Angel victory.

“It went from good to bad real quick, and I look at that as a total failure,” said Donnelly, who has a 7.94 earned-run average in four appearances. “It’s something I’ve done in the past and can’t do in the future; I lose my intensity when the game is not on the line.”

Donnelly spoke with veteran starter Paul Byrd and Manager Mike Scioscia about how to avoid the mental letdown similar to the one closers often experience when not pitching in closing situations.

“Byrd told me you’ve got to find a way to pitch like it’s a 0-0 game,” Donnelly said. “Scioscia said I should just think about where I was five years ago.”

In 2000, Donnelly was pitching his ninth minor league season, at the triple-A level, and was released by two organizations, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs. The year before, he was released by three organizations and pitched for an independent-league team in Nashua, N.H.

“That about sums it up,” Donnelly said.

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The Angels, heavy favorites to win the American League West, have won four of six games against Texas so far this season, but it’s not as if they have a big edge over the Rangers, who have one of baseball’s best offenses.

Four of the six games between the teams were decided by one run, and two went extra innings. Texas almost overcame a 12-3 deficit Tuesday night, and the Angels almost came back from a 6-1 deficit Wednesday.

“We’ve never played an easy game here,” Angel first baseman Darin Erstad said. “At some point, they rally. They never quit. They have a lot of fight in them, and they keep coming at you. You know you’ve got to bring your lunch pail to work when you play them, because there’s nothing easy about it.”

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Vladimir Guerrero, who left Tuesday’s game in the fourth inning because of a bruised knee, started at designated hitter Wednesday night but is expected to return to right field Friday in Oakland.... Third baseman Dallas McPherson, recovering from a herniated disk in his lower back, had two hits and a run batted in for triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday. McPherson is hitting .235 (four for 17) and is expected to be called up next week.