Hanson pitching well enough to absorb stolen bases

ANAHEIM -- When Ichiro Suzuki stole two bases during the course of one at-bat in the seventh inning of Saturday's game, it illustrated a problem Tommy Hanson has dealt with for the entirety of his career -- holding runners on.

While the Yankees stole four bases against Hanson -- the most he has allowed in one game this season -- the right-hander, along with some help from the Angels' bullpen, stranded Suzuki at third.

"Task one for a pitcher is really to execute a good pitch to hopefully get that miss-hit," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think a lot of pitchers are going to have chinks in their armor, whatever that might be. Some guys, it's going to be holding runners."

In Hanson's eight starts this season, opponents are 14-for-15 when attempting to steal. Hanson is tied with the Cubs' Scott Feldman and San Diego's Edinson Volquez for the most stolen bases allowed in the Majors, but both Feldman and Volquez have thrown at least 30 more innings than Hanson.

Saturday's results were nothing new as opponents have averaged 31 stolen bases per season against Hanson in his career. However, Scioscia feels that as long as Hanson strands the runners -- which he did on all four occasions Saturday -- it's a non-issue.

"I think you have to look at the bottom line of any pitcher, and Tommy, if you look at his bottom line, he's pitched at a high enough level to absorb a lot of the things you would see in stolen bases and stuff," Scioscia said.