Percentage Baseball Works Against Angels, 3-2

Opportunity knocked, more than once, for the Angels Saturday afternoon, only to remain unanswered when:

--Mike Witt pitched a four-hitter and remained winless in 1985.

--The Angels’ first two batters in both the first and second innings reached base--and remained there.

--Reggie Jackson remained on the bench in the ninth inning while two other left-handed pinch-hitters batted instead.

--And .182-hitting shortstop Dick Schofield flied to right for the game’s final out as the Angels lost to the Seattle Mariners, 3-2, at Anaheim Stadium before a crowd of 23,861.

And so ended a pair of streaks--the Angels’ winning streak and the Mariners’ losing streak--at four games.

The Angels managed just four hits against Seattle’s starting pitcher, Mark Langston, and two relievers, but that isn’t to suggest they didn’t have chances.

First, there was the first inning, when Gary Pettis led off with a single and Darrell Miller walked. Brian Downing hit into a double play to kill the rally.

The Angels got two more hitters immediately on base in the second inning, with Bob Boone walking and Juan Beniquez reaching first on an error. Again, however, a double play was in the wings, this one off the bat of Bobby Grich, and another threat was squelched.

Finally, in the eighth inning, the Angels managed to break through against Langston (2-1). Doug DeCinces hit a two-out, two-run double but was stranded at second when Manager Gene Mauch’s first of three left-handed pinch-hitters, Rod Carew, grounded to shortstop.

And, then, there was the ninth inning.

With right-handed relief pitcher Ed Nunez opening the inning for Seattle, Mauch sent another left-hander, Rob Wilfong, to bat for Beniquez. Wilfong drew a walk and was sacrificed to second by Grich.

Mauch then sent up left-hander No. 3--Ruppert Jones--to bat for Mike Brown, and Seattle brought on left-handed pitcher Ed Vande Berg.

Jones was called out on strikes for the second out. That brought up the No. 9 spot in the Angels’ batting order--either Schofield or Jackson as a pinch-hitter.

Mauch went according to the book and went with Schofield, a right-hander. And Schofield went to right field for the game’s last out.

Afterward, Mauch defended his use of Schofield but did admit that “I misfigured the ninth.”

“I didn’t think they’d switch Nunez for Vande Berg that quick,” Mauch said. “I thought they’d wait until Reggie was in and then try to bury us, left-hander against left-hander.”

Instead, the Mariners set up a left-hander vs. left-hander scenario one batter early. And Jones wound up buried, looking at a third strike on the outside corner of the plate.

There was still one more chance to bring on Jackson, who, according to Mauch, “has been known to hit Vande Berg pretty well. He hit a home run (actually, a grand slam) off him up there in ’82.”

Still, Mauch stayed with Schofield.

“I’m not going to send him (Jackson) up there to hit for Schofield,” Mauch said. “Schofield’s been swinging the bat pretty good lately. I liked his chances there.”

Schofield did have a pair of hits Friday night, including a home run, and had opened the eighth inning Saturday with a single off Langston. And so, he made his way to the plate again.

Jackson said he “was ready to hit. Around the seventh inning, I got up and started getting loose. You never know what Gene’s thinking. Gene doesn’t say much.”

But Jackson said he saw the logic behind Mauch’s ninth-inning maneuvering.

“It was a 50-50 choice,” Jackson said. “Schofield, the last time up, had singled off one of the toughest lefties in the league.

“It was a tough situation. . . . When you don’t win, there are the questions.”

And then, there are other questions, such as: When is Witt, author of the 1984 perfect game and supposed ace of the staff, going to win another game?

He’s 0-3 after yielding just four hits in nine innings against the Mariners.

Two of the hits, however, went for extra bases. The first, a double by Dave Henderson, drove in one run in the second inning. And the other, a two-run home run by Ken Phelps in the third, gave Seattle a 3-0 lead.

“Witt pitched good enough to win,” Mauch said. “We haven’t made it easy on him--yet. Or easier. I don’t know if we can make it easy for him, but we can make it easier.”

Saturday, the Angels found almost everything difficult against Langston. Langston had a two-hit shutout through seven innings before DeCinces spoiled matters in the eighth.

“I wish I were his agent,” Grich said of the 24-year-old pitcher, who was 17-10 as a rookie in 1984. “I’ll be surprised if he leads the league in strikeouts, but I think his ERA will go down.

It did just that Saturday. And his victory total doubled, thanks to some relief help and a few right moves in the ninth inning.

Angel Notes

Seattle Manager Chuck Cottier was ejected by plate umpire Rich Garcia in the first inning while protesting a balk call made against Mark Langston. “How come he (Garcia) calls the balk? Where was the first-base umpire?,” Cottier said. “Nobody is ever consistent with balk calls. Pretty soon, they’ll have a guy call it from the press box.” . . . Pitching coach Phil Regan technically replaced Cottier as manager, although Cottier made all the strategic calls while watching from the runway leading to the clubhouse. . . . The victory was the first on the road for the Mariners, who had dropped four straight after winning their first six home games. “This is our first win in the grays (road uniforms),” Cottier said. “They were going in the furnace if we didn’t win today.”. . . Bob Boone batted fifth in a revamped Angel lineup, moved up from his usual No. 8 position. The reason? According to Mauch, Boone had gone 3 for 4 the last time he faced Langston. Saturday, Boone went 0 for 1 with two walks. . . . Juan Beniquez started at first base for the Angels and made a pair of outstanding defensive plays. In the fifth inning, he robbed Jack Perconte for an unassisted out. And in the eighth, he saved a run by backhanding a sharp grounder by Alvin Davis and underhanding the ball to Mike Witt, covering first for the third out. . . . Injured Angel shortstop Rick Burleson was a visitor in the press box and was momentarily called into action when Seattle’s Bob Kearney fouled a pitch back into the box. A bit rusty, Burleson dropped the ball. . . . The Angels held a player meeting before the game but not to discuss the ongoing contract negotiations between the owners and the Players Assn. “Sorry, it was nothing real spicy,” team representative Ron Romanick said. “We talked about players insurance, the gifts KMPC gives to players for interviews and we voted on an alternative rep (Witt was elected). Just some clerical stuff.” Romanick said he “had no idea” about the progress of the contract talks. “That’s up to the (players) executive board,” he said. “You get it (the news) as quickly in the papers as I do. Besides, it’s too early to have a meeting to talk about that.” Romanick then smiled and added, “But we could tomorrow.” . . . The Angels conclude their three-game series with Seattle today, sending Geoff Zahn (1-0) against Jim Beattie (0-0) in a 1 p.m. game.