Candelaria’s Support Seems Heaven-Sent in 12-0 Rout of the Twins

John Candelaria spent two years begging the Pittsburgh Pirates to trade him.

He is now trying to put Pittsburgh behind him, closing his mind to the past.

Sunday, however, there was a reason to remember and smile.

The Angels kindled his memory with a 16-hit, 12-0 rout of Minnesota, stretching their lead over Kansas City in the American League West to 3 1/2 games.

“I started a game against Chicago in June of ’75 and we won, 22-0.” Candelaria said. “That’s the last time I remember getting this many runs.”

The “we” referred to the Pirates and was a natural slip. He spent 11 years with Pittsburgh. He’s been with the Angels 11 days.

The Sunday onslaught against four Twin pitchers helped Candelaria register his first American League win after 124 in the National. It was also his first win since July 6 and first as a starter since Aug. 31, 1984.

A good feeling?

“Yes and no,” Candelaria said. “I felt I should never have been taken out of the rotation (by the Pirates this year.) I should never have been in a position where I’d go a year without a win as a starter.

“I feel good about it in the sense that we won and that I contributed a little. The players here have made me feel welcome and I feel a part of it now. It’s nice to be back in a winning atmosphere and enjoying the game again. It had stopped being enjoyable for me in Pittsburgh.”

One of the reasons being the Pirates assigned Candelaria to the bullpen this year. He made 37 relief appearances, the longest three innings. He has now gone five innings in each of two starts with the Angels, both against Minnesota.

In the first, on Aug. 4 in Anaheim, Candelaria permitted three hits, three walks and four runs. Stewart Cliburn eventually gained credit for a 6-5 win.

Candelaria came back Sunday to shut out the Twins on five hits. He walked one, struck out two and watched Cliburn allow only two hits over the final four innings. It was the third save for the rookie right-hander, who is 6-2 with a 1.97 earned-run average.

Candelaria said he began to tire in the fourth inning and is still paying a price for the fact that “I got lackadaisical as a reliever. I found myself not running as much and my legs are feeling it now. I’ve got to get on my horse and do something about it. I’m hopeful that before the season is over I’ll be able to go nine.”

Manager Gene Mauch said Candelaria’s second start showed progress over the first.

“It’s not easy being a starter with a reliever’s conditioning,” Mauch said. “His arm is probably capable of throwing 120 pitches, but he doesn’t have the stamina, the balance as far as his legs are concerned.”

Candelaria’s teammates worked on conditioning by running the bases Sunday. The margin of victory was the Angels’ largest since they beat Minnesota here, 14-2, on Aug. 2 of last year. The 16 hits gave the Angels 40 in their last three games, of which they won two to salvage a series split and end the season’s series with a 9-4 advantage over the Twins.

The onslaught chased starter John Butcher in the sixth and continued against Frank Eufemia, Rick Lysander and Mark Brown. The latter two were rewarded with a post-game option to Toledo as the Twins recalled pitcher Mark Portugal and made the signing of ex-Dodger Steve Howe official.

The Angel attack featured:

--A double and two singles by Ruppert Jones, who drove in two runs and scored one. Jones is hitting .350 over his last 30 games and has a season’s average of .285 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in 263 at-bats. Fred Lynn, whose departure led to Jones’ signing at about a third of what Lynn makes, has 18 homers, 54 RBIs and a .264 average in 365 at-bats.

--A sacrifice fly and RBI single by Doug DeCinces, maintaining his club RBI lead at 58.

--A single and bases-loaded triple by Brian Downing, who has 52 RBIs and a 12-game hitting streak in which he’s batting .447. Downing, who was hitting .194 on June 21, is now at .259.

--Three singles by Gary Pettis, now at .265, and a double and synthetic surface triple by Dick Schofield, who drove in three runs and scored two.

The Angels obviously have their indoor game in gear as they prepare for the Seattle Kingdome and five games in three days. They will play a doubleheader tonight and another Wednesday to make up the two games with Seattle that were canceled in Anaheim because of the strike.

General Manager Mike Port told publicist John Sevano Sunday that the American League is apparently thinking of allowing the Angels to bat last as the home team in two of the Seattle games. Port said he expects clarification today.

Mauch shook his head and said: “I’ve never heard of being the home team in someone else’s park. I mean, I’ve heard of it happening in the minor leagues but not the majors. It’s kind of Mickey Mouse. A good team should be able to handle any situation. We can win in Seattle. We’ve proved it.”

The Angels are 7-1 against the Mariners and 4-0 in Seattle, batting first each time.

Angel Notes Twins’ President Howard Fox confirmed that Steve Howe’s contract extends through 1986 and includes a number of incentive provisions that the club looks on as safeguards. “Steve and his agent wanted to be paid the going rate and we want to pay him the going rate, but we also want to be sure that he’s going to accomplish something,” Fox said. . . . On the 1985 collapse of the Twins, now 14 games behind the Angels, Fox said he was particularly disturbed about the poor offensive production. “I’m not criticizing the Angels but if you compare the two clubs position by position, there are not too many people we’d give up,” he said. . . . The Angel bullpen now has a cumulative ERA of 3.06 with a 22-8 record and 25 saves. The ERA and .733 percentage are the league’s best.