Despite Their Losses, Angels Win, 7-2 : Carew, DeCinces Placed on Disabled List; Jackson Is Injured

Take Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Doug DeCinces and Gary Pettis out of the Angels’ lineup and what have you got?

The Angels, doing nothing for the mental and emotional well-being of Manager Gene Mauch, are about to find out.

With DeCinces and Pettis already doing overtime in the trainer’s room, two more regulars took the plunge Monday night, Carew being placed on the 15-day disabled list and Jackson straining a hamstring during the Angels’ 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers before a crowd of 30,519 at Anaheim Stadium.

Carew’s reassignment came following a bone scan performed on his long-aching left foot, an injury sustained May 2 while Carew was scoring a run against Toronto. Two previous X-rays proved negative, but Monday’s bone scan showed that Carew had indeed suffered a stress fracture.

Carew had tried to play on the injury, but was hitting just .222 since the incident. He will undergo treatment for six or seven days before doctors determine if the foot needs a cast.

If a cast is necessary, Carew could be sidelined for three weeks.

“If this was Sept. 20, Rodney probably could keep on playing,” Mauch said. “But there’s the possibility of making it worse and I’m not gonna do that.”

More news from Anaheim Stadium, otherwise known as the American League’s answer to “St. Elsewhere”:

--DeCinces, bothered by recurring back spasms, joined Carew on the 15-day disabled list. And that move bothered DeCinces even more.

“I’m not happy about going on the DL,” DeCinces said. “I can’t say I’ll be ready to play in four days--but I might be. Now, I have to wait 10 (more) days.”

DeCinces’ spot on the roster was filled by 23-year-old third baseman Jack Howell, recalled earlier in the day from Edmonton, where he was batting .387. Howell walked twice and scored two runs in his major league debut.

--Pettis, hobbled by a groin pull he aggravated Saturday against New York, will be kept out of the remainder of the Detroit series. “It feels a lot better today,” Pettis said of the injury. “I’m hoping to be back by Friday.”

--And Jackson, the team’s home run leader, is on a day-to-day basis after straining his left hamstring while running out a single in the second inning of Monday’s game.

“I’ve had a bunch of hamstring pulls in my career,” Jackson said. “I didn’t have to be told what it was. It’s not torn, but pulled. I can’t tell how badly until tomorrow morning.”

Said team doctor Jules Rasinski: “I don’t know how long he’ll be out. He’s got 39-year-old muscles and they don’t come around too fast.”

With Jackson hurt, that’s four starters out of action--half a batting order.

Angels fans, brace yourself for a heavy dosage of Little Ball in the days ahead.

Mauch, who bears the responsibility of picking up the pieces in the midst of a brutal May schedule, said the only thing he could say: It’s time to rally ‘round the DL, boys.’

“I’ve had it happen where guys just grab a hold of themselves and overcome this kind of thing,” Mauch said. “I’d probably like it better if we weren’t playing New York, Detroit and Baltimore.

“But if they beat us, they beat us. We’re not gonna fold up. We’ve just got to pitch extremely well the next three days.”

The Angels, who extended their first-place lead in the American League West to 1 1/2 games over Chicago, got a good enough effort from Ron Romanick (5-1). Romanick surrendered seven hits while pitching the team’s first complete-game victory since April 27, and was working on a shutout until Mike Laga hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

The Angels won this one with help from Rob Wilfong, Juan Beniquez, Ruppert Jones and Howell--names, no doubt, you’ll be seeing more regularly.

Wilfong and Beniquez both had two singles, with Jones driving in the first of four fifth-inning runs and Howell scoring twice.

Bob Boone added two RBI singles, Dick Schofield had another and Bobby Grich, filling in for Carew at first base, contributed a two-run single.

“That was some choice hitting, I’ll tell you that much,” Mauch said. “You talk about players you pay to see play, well, I’d pay to see Juan Beniquez hit. That was artistry, the way he slices them to right field.

“That’s why we have 25 guys--and it sometimes takes 30 to 35 guys.”

Angel Notes

The Angels continue to search for a starting pitcher, and one became available Monday when the Montreal Expos released 35-year-old right-hander Steve Rogers. But Angel General Manager Mike Port claims the team isn’t interested in Rogers “unless I’m convinced that he has an answer for his poor pitching lately.” A former All-Star, Rogers went 6-15 with a 4.31 ERA in 1984 and got off to a 2-4, 5.68 start this season. With his release, Rogers can be signed by any club for the major league minimum salary ($40,000), with the Expos responsible for the remainder of his contract. Said Dick Moss, Rogers’ attorney: “From Steve’s standpoint, he’s in an ideal situation. He’s healthy, he can pitcher and he’s the master of his own destiny.” Moss said three teams have contacted him about Rogers. “I haven’t heard from the Angels,” he said. “My obligation is to the clubs that have come forward.” . . . According to Port, the Angels are talking with other clubs about four pitchers, two of them presumably Bert Blyleven of Cleveland and John Candelaria of Pittsburgh. Blyleven becomes a free agent after the 1986 season and the Indians, not wanting to be left empty-handed, are reportedly willing to trade Blyleven in exchange for “a bona fide prospect.” . . . Daryl Sconiers’ 20-day rehabilitation assignment with Midland of the Texas League ended Monday, but because of rainouts and off-days, the Angels requested and received permission from Sconiers and the Major League Players Assn. for a five-day extension through Saturday. At that point, Sconiers can either be activated or placed on a special “rehabilitation list,” which would enable him to work out with the team.