Pettis’ Glove Takes Punch Out of Chicago : Center Fielder Goes to Wall for Angels in 6-3 Victory

Mike Brown hammered a two-run homer off the facade of Comiskey Park’s upper deck in left field; Juan Beniquez hit a two-run homer into the center-field bullpen, and Bob Boone lined a solo homer into the lower deck in left.

The home run barrage, however, was not the only difference as the Angels defeated Chicago, 6-3, Saturday to take a 1 1/2-game lead over the White Sox in the American League West.

Of equal importance was what happened when Harold Baines hit a long ball for Chicago in the fifth inning: Center fielder Gary Pettis deprived him of a possible three-run homer with another addition to his highlight film.

How many have there been now?

The telling comment came from Angel Manager Gene Mauch.

“I appreciated it,” Mauch said of the latest game-saver, “but it gets no ranking. A fine play, but it doesn’t compare to some of the others he’s made.”

Said Chicago Manager Tony LaRussa: “Under normal conditions, it would have been a routine catch by his standards, but with the wind blowing, the sun, the men on base, it was a real tough catch.”

A three-run homer would have given Chicago a 5-4 lead and eventually led to the use of Bob James, who leads the league with 16 saves.

The Angels, however, expanded their 4-2 lead with two late runs off starter Tim Lollar and successor Dan Spillner, ultimately rewarding a seven-hitter by two of their rookie pitchers, Urbano Lugo and Stewart Cliburn.

The latter worked the final three innings to claim his second save, but Pettis deserved one, too.

He was forced to battle a strong wind blowing toward center and a blinding sun that had already caused four routine pop-ups to fall untouched, two for base-hits.

“It was impossible,” Angel second baseman Bobby Grich said of what is known as a high sky. “You looked up, and all there was was the sun.”

Pettis said he saw Baines’ towering drive all the way. He back-pedaled, trying to judge the wind, went up at the same instant that he collided with the 11-foot bullpen fence, then reached back with his arm extended to make the catch, retaining possession as he bounced off the fence and fell to his knees on the warning track.

Said Pettis, who pursues every fly ball with the thought that he can catch it: “I had no idea I was at the fence until I hit it. I thought I was still on the side of the field when I caught it, but the guys said my glove was on the other side and that I brought it back. A game-saver? I don’t know. It was obviously important, considering the situation.”

Of Pettis, Mauch said: “He’s not one of the best . . . he is the best. I’m not going to compare him to Willie Mays or Paul Blair or other former players until he’s done it over a number of years, but at this time, he’s the best in baseball, easy.”

This latest catch overshadowed a remarkable play that Grich called the best of his long career.

“I don’t think I’ve ever made a better one,” he said.

The White Sox had a runner on first base with one out in the second inning when Ron Kittle hit a shot up the middle. It bounced once before a diving, extended Grich backhanded it.

Then, before hitting the ground, he flipped it under his body to Dick Schofield for the force-out at second.

Schofield threw to first, where umpire Ken Kaiser called Kittle safe--only to have Kittle, thinking he was out, turn onto the infield and be tagged out, completing a double play.

The Grich and Pettis masterpieces helped Lugo negotiate six-plus innings, yielding two runs and six hits, two of them sun-aided.

“The kid pitched great,” Mauch said. “We put him in jail twice on pop flies, and he pitched out of it. He has one ton of competitive spirit and a fine arm to go along with it.”

Lugo has beaten the White Sox twice in a seven-day span, this time following on the heels of another rookie, Kirk McCaskill, who defeated the White Sox, 5-2, Friday night after pitching well against them at Anaheim.

Said Mauch: “There’s that old baseball saying about wait till we see him a second time. It was very important to me that they came back just as effective.”

The Angels have won three in a row, and their pitchers have allowed only 21 runs in the last 10 games. The offense has contributed 10 hits in each of the last two games.

A four-run second inning Saturday came at the expense of loser Lollar (2-4) and included the two-run homers by Brown (No. 2) and Beniquez (No. 5).

Beniquez also had a single in the first and a triple in the seventh, when he scored on Brian Downing’s sacrifice fly. Beniquez is 7 for 10 in the series, has hit .470 over the last 14 games and is batting a club-leading .310.

“Right now,” he said, “I have so much confidence that every time I go to the plate, I think I’m going to get a hit.”

Said Mauch of Beniquez:

“For three years, he’s been the best hitter in the game, and that’s said in all sincerity. The man’s got a lot of ways to get a hit and rarely tries to do more than he’s capable of. When he’s hitting like he is now, it’s like the field is an easel.”

Mauch meant canvas, but his point is clear: Beniquez has been an artist at his craft.

Angel Notes

Brian Downing, who came in with 4 hits in his last 61 at-bats, had a single and a double in addition to his sacrifice fly. He raised his arms exultantly after the first-inning single but refused to acknowledge a pair of reporters who attempted to talk to him after the game, choosing to keep his face buried in his locker as he dressed. . . . More Mauch on Gary Pettis: “I’ve told him that if the damn ball stays in the field, I want it caught. Sometimes, he doesn’t pay attention. Sometimes he leaves the field to catch it.” . . . Bob Boone, batting .319 in 39 games since May 3, has three homers, equaling his 1984 total. . . . Stewart Cliburn allowed one hit over the last three innings, an eighth-inning homer by Greg Walker, his 11th. Cliburn has allowed just four earned runs in his last 27 innings. . . . The Angels are 18-12 on the road, the best percentage in the majors. . . . Chicago has lost three in a row, all at home, where it is 20-10. . . . The Angels’ Mike Witt (5-6) will pitch again Bruce Tanner (1-0) in today’s series finale. Channel 5 will televise at 11:30 a.m. PDT.