Angels’ Fabregas Has a Hand in Victory Over Brewers

ANAHEIM — Jorge Fabregas’ batting average spiraled downward the past two weeks. Pitchers have worked him a little more carefully and hits have been harder to come by.

But one thing remained in his hands: His defense.

Fabregas displayed those catching skills Saturday in the Angels’ 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He threw out two runners attempting to steal.

A small contribution on the surface, but . . .

“That’s huge in a game like this,” said pitcher Mark Langston, who threw a three-hit shutout.

Actually, it would be huge in any Angel game lately.

When Fabregas nailed Joe Oliver to end the second inning, it snapped an 0-for-13 streak by Angel catchers against base stealers.

Fabregas had been the last catcher to succeed in that department when he threw out Chicago’s Warren Newson. That was June 15.

“I knew it had been a while, because I was the guy out there mostly,” Fabregas said. “I’ve had a few bang-bang plays that could have gone either way.”

Saturday, they leaned his direction, and it wasn’t even close.

The Brewers are one of the most active teams on the basepaths. Their 56 steals are fourth in the American League. But they didn’t get a runner past first Saturday.

Fabregas, who has thrown out 10 of 32 runners, nailed Oliver by nearly 20 feet in the second on what appeared to be a botched hit-and-run play. The second try was closer by comparison. Jose Valentin attempted to get into scoring position in the eighth, but Fabregas’ throw was on the bag.

It helped, Fabregas said, to have Langston pitching. Langston has picked off nine runners, which is tied with Randy Johnson for tops in the league. Base stealers were only seven for 14 against Langston before Saturday.

“Mark is the best there is at holding on,” Fabregas said. “He just makes my job easier.”