Murray’s 3 Homers, 9 RBIs Help Orioles Thrash Angels, 17-3

A familiar sight took place at Anaheim Stadium on Monday night. A crowd of 25,805 rose to its feet and began chanting the player’s name, encouraging him to come out of the dugout to take a post-home run bow.

But, instead of “Reggie . . . Reggie,” the cry that echoed around the stadium was, “Eddie . . . Eddie.”

As in Eddie Murray.

The Baltimore first baseman did not disappoint the fans. Such treatment, after all, is not usually accorded a player from a visiting team. But then not many players have the kind of night Eddie Murray had Monday.

Murray homered three times, including a grand slam, and drove in a club-record nine runs to lead the Orioles to a 17-3 win over the Angels.

Murray finished the game 4 for 5, with a walk, and flirted with his fourth homer of the game in the seventh inning when he flied out to the warning track in center field.

“They were rooting for me to hit another one,” Murray said. “It was really nice to be cheered by the other (team’s) fans.”

One of Murray’s biggest fans sits in the Baltimore dugout. His name is Earl Weaver. “I’m very happy with Eddie, but I’m very happy with him every night,” he said.

“Eddie’s always there when you need him. He’s been that way all his career.”

It was the third time in Murray’s career that he had hit three home runs in one game and, much to Angel Manager Gene Mauch’s disappointment, it accounted for only a portion of the Orioles’ offensive output.

Baltimore finished with seven home runs, the most the Angels have ever given up and the most the Orioles have hit in one game.

It began with Murray’s first-inning blast off Angel starter John Candelaria and ended in the top of the ninth, when Rick Dempsey hit a two-run homer deep to center.

In between, John Shelby, Floyd Rayford and Gary Roenicke also cleared the fence. The last time the Orioles came anywhere near hitting seven home runs in a game was May 17, 1967, when they hit six against Boston at Fenway Park.

The loss cuts the Angels’ lead over Kansas City in the American League West to 1 1/2 games. And it’s one the Angel pitching staff would like to forget.

It didn’t take long for Candelaria to provide an indication that this would be a long night for Mauch and the Angels. He hit Oriole leadoff batter Alan Wiggins with the second pitch of the game, and Lee Lacy and Cal Ripken followed with consecutive singles, bringing up Murray.

Candelaria got ahead on the count at 1-2 before Murray powered his next delivery over the fence in left-center to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.

The Angels countered with two runs in the bottom of the first on Juan Beniquez’s two-run homer to left-center off Oriole starter Dennis Martinez.

Shelby led off the Baltimore second by drilling a 2-0 pitch over the left-field wall. Candelaria then walked No. 9 hitter Rick Dempsey before getting Wiggins and Lacy to fly out. Ripken looped a double down the right-field line. Dempsey scored and Ripken took third when Candelaria unleashed a wild pitch that went back to the screen. Moments later, Murray singled sharply to drive in Ripken and give the Orioles a 7-2 lead.

To the overwhelming approval of the Anaheim crowd, Candelaria then was replaced by Alan Fowlkes, who got Mike Young to pop out to end the inning.

But Fowlkes ran into trouble in the third when Rayford and Roenicke hit back-to-back homers to left. Fowlkes managed to keep things quiet from there, until Murray came up in the fourth.

This time, Murray hit a towering drive that landed deep in the second deck of the seats in right-center, making it 10-2 in the Orioles’ favor.

Murray came up to face Fowlkes again with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, and deposited a 1-1 pitch to almost the same spot. The grand slam was the 12th of Murray’s career and his third this season.

Angel Notes

Eddie Murray’s nine RBIs broke the Oriole club record of eight, set by Jim Gentile on May 9, 1961, against Minnesota. . . . Geoff Zahn update: Manager Gene Mauch said Monday that surgery on Zahn’s left shoulder will likely be delayed until after Sept. 9, the day Zahn is due to come off the disabled list. Zahn went on the disabled list Aug. 19 with tendinitis in the shoulder. “Rather than do the surgery immediately, they’ve decided to put it off for a while,” Mauch said. “It will have to be done . . . it will be done. But not before Sept. 9.” . . . Mike Witt (11-7) will be the starting pitcher tonight as the Angels close out the home stand against longtime nemesis Scott McGregor (10-11). Witt is making his second start since receiving cortisone treatments for slight tendinitis in his right shoulder. Mauch didn’t seem overly concerned about the status of his right-hander. “He pitched one of his most demanding games the start after he got that treatment,” Mauch said, referring to a 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. Witt allowed eight hits and struck out 10 in that game.