Angels Lose Wild Game on Wild Throw : Yankees Win, 13-10, After Howell’s Error in 10th Snaps 10-10 Tie

The Wednesday night game between the Angels and New York Yankees didn’t belong in Anaheim Stadium. It belonged down the street in Adventureland.

It was an E ticket right from the bizarre start through the equally bizarre finish.

The Angels led, 5-4, after one inning; trailed, 7-6, after two; scored twice in the ninth for a 10-10 tie, then lost in the 10th, 13-10.

The Yankees now have won seven straight games and 14 of their last 15 to move within three games of Toronto in the American League East. The Angels lead Kansas City by only 1 1/2 games in the West. The Royals, in fact, are now tied with the Angels in the loss column.

The latest loss was only the Angels’ third in 12 extra-inning games.

Donnie Moore had one out in the 10th when singles by Don Baylor and Ken Griffey put runners at first and third. Willie Randolph then hit a sharp grounder that third baseman Jack Howell knocked down and retrieved, with time to get the out at first. He threw wildly, however, as Baylor scored and Griffey and Randolph advanced.

One out later, with the bases loaded, Bobby Meacham blooped a two-run single to left, guaranteeing Moore’s seventh loss against seven wins.

Moore was the sixth Angel pitcher. The Yankees used five. Dave Righetti was credited with the win, surviving the improbable rally in the ninth when the Angels tied it on a walk to Rod Carew and a bloop single by Juan Beniquez that produced a pair of throwing errors--first by right fielder Dave Winfield and then by catcher Butch Wynegar. Both Carew and Beniquez circled the bases as a crowd of 40,363 went wild.

There were eight errors in all, five by the Yankees. There were 25 hits, 18 by the Yankees, who had six doubles plus home runs by Rickey Henderson, his 20th, and Mike Pagliarulo, his 14th. A double by Don Mattingly in the fourth stretched his hitting streak to 19 games.

The Angels were given eight walks but restricted to one hit over the final 6 innings by Brian Fisher, who came on in the fourth to restore order via a stint of 4 innings, and by Righetti.

The Angels wasted a pair of first-inning homers. Brian Downing hit his 15th to open the five-run assault. Bobby Grich capped it with his seventh, a three-run shot to dead center.

Joe Cowley, the Yankee starter, left after facing only four batters. Angel starter John Candelaria went only 1 innings. It was the poorest of his four starts with the Angels, but he was also victimized by bad defense and three bloop singles.

Candelaria was followed by Stewart Cliburn, Urbano Lugo, Luis Sanchez, Al Holland and loser Moore.

Cliburn had a shutout string of 19 innings snapped via a fourth-inning run. Lugo, recalled from Edmonton Monday and making his first appearance since Aug. 1, retired the only batter he faced, but it proved costly.

Lugo got Mattingly on a grounder to the mound to open the sixth, sprained his left foot in the process and was forced to leave. He will be on a day-to-day basis.

The game spanned 4 hours 1 minute. The first two innings alone took 68 minutes.

There was agony and ecstasy for both teams in a first inning that seemed as if it would never end. A total of 17 batters went to the plate. The nine runs--three of which were unearned--stemmed from two home runs, four singles, a double, three errors and three walks. The second inning was tamer. A total of only 12 batters went to the plate. The four runs stemmed from one homer, one double, two singles and four walks.

The game began with Henderson drawing a walk off Candelaria. Mattingly then forced Henderson, but Dick Schofield’s return throw to first was wild, putting Mattingly on second.

Winfield’s ensuing grounder was booted by third baseman Howell as Mattingly stayed at second.

Baylor then blooped a single to right on which Mattingly scored and Winfield took third. Baylor continued to second on Reggie Jackson’s futile throw to the plate, then scored along with Winfield when Billy Sample followed with a bloop single to center.

A ground-out put Sample on second and in position to score on Andre Roberston’s single to left, the first authoritative hit of the inning. Wynegar followed with another, a double to left, but Robertson was nailed at the plate by a flawless relay--Downing to Schofield to Bob Boone.

Thus, it was 4-0 as the Angels finally came to bat in the home first, which Downing opened with his homer, awakening the Angels’ interest. Two walks and a Jackson single made it 5-2, which is all Yankee Manager Billy Martin could tolerate from starter Cowley.

He summoned Bob Shirley, who got an out on a force play but then yielded Grich’s seventh homer, a towering drive to dead center, giving the Angels a 5-4 lead.

It was Grich’s second homer in two nights after not hitting one since July 13.

The Yankees came back for a 7-5 lead in the second. Candelaria walked Bobby Meacham to open the inning and then yielded Henderson’s 20th homer, a drive that carried over the TV platform in center. A one-out double by Winfield and a two-out bloop single by Sample produced the inning’s third run and sent the star-crossed Candelaria to the clubhouse.

The Angels kept coming back, but so did the relentless Yankees.

Angel Notes

Mike Witt (10-7) makes his first start tonight since being treated with cortisone for tendinitis in his right shoulder. He opposes Ron Guidry (16-4). A strong Witt performance might influence Manager Gene Mauch to go to a four-man rotation, eliminating the choice of a fifth starter between Jim Slaton, who drew his 10th loss in 15 decisions Tuesday night, and the recently recalled Urbano Lugo. Said Mauch, of the four-man rotation: “It would be a distinct possibility if there wasn’t a question about Witt, though I think he’s going to be fine.” . . . Mauch refused to name his fifth starter, providing he stays with five. “I’ve got three days to make a decision,” he said, adding that he may use either Slaton or Lugo in relief before then. . . . Doug DeCinces, recovering from Saturday night’s back spasm, was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game. “Doug is all right with a bat in his hand,” Mauch said, “but he doesn’t feel he can bend over to field a ground ball, and he doesn’t want to try yet.”