Royals Throw Everything on Black and Come Up Big Winners

For the Angels, this has been a big year for reminiscing. Silver Anniversaries usually are.

And any recounting of the franchise’s first 25 years has to include at least a passing mention of Harry (Bud) Black. He is the man who, on Sept. 17, 1984, surrendered the 500th home run in Reggie Jackson’s major league career.

So much for the pleasant memories. Today, Angel fans know Bud Black for another reason. The Angels had hoped to take advantage of a 9-15 pitcher Wednesday night and, in the process, build their lead to two games with four to play. Black destroyed those hopes with a three-single, 4-0 victory.

Once again, the Angels are tied with the Royals in the American League West. Once again, the Angels squandered momentum, that precious commodity they had laid claim to after Tuesday night’s triumph.

And once again, the Angels have backed themselves into a corner--facing yet another must-win situation.

If they don’t win tonight, the Angels will go to Texas one game behind the Royals--probably needing a sweep of the Rangers and definitely needing some help from the Oakland A’s, who close the regular season in Kansas City.

For that, the Angels can thank Black.

After shutting down the Royals, 4-2, on Tuesday, Mike Witt proclaimed that the Angels held the upper hand in the West. His reasoning: The Angels already had earned a split against Kansas City’s best two pitchers--Bret Saberhagen and Charlie Leibrandt--with the weak links of the Royals’ starting rotation due next.

It seemed good reasoning, particularly in the case of Black. A 17-game winner in 1984, Black had faded to fringe status in 1985. He was 9-15 with an earned-run average of 4.53 entering Wednesday’s game. He had won just one of his last nine starts and four of his last 16 decisions. He had pitched five innings or less in seven of his last nine starts.

A lot of people wondered what Black was doing starting a game on the second evening of October, with the Royals’ playoffs hopes on the line. A lot of them voiced their opinion in newspaper columns, on radio talk shows and in letters to the manager.

“He’s been the most talked-about pitcher on our staff,” Kansas City Manager Dick Howser said of Black. “I get calls and I get letters. Everybody has an answer when a guy is going bad. They’ve wanted to sit him down, put him in the bullpen, trade him.

“All I can say is that this was our biggest game of the year and Bud Black pitched a shutout.”

It was a convincing shutout, too. The Angels never came close to scoring against Black. Never got close enough to even dream about it.

Only one runner, Gary Pettis, advanced as far as second base against Black. That was in the eighth inning, when Pettis beat out an infield single to deep shortstop and moved to second on a ground-out.

The Angels’ other two hits were a soft single to right by Bobby Grich in the second inning and a bouncer up the middle by Doug DeCinces in the seventh. DeCinces also had his bat broken twice by Black’s pitches.

The Angels’ hardest-hit ball of the night may have been the first. Brian Downing hit a sharp hopper to third base that George Brett lost his glove stopping. Brett grabbed the ball with his bare hand and easily threw Downing out.

“I had two thoughts after that play,” Black said. “It was either going to be my night . . . or they were going to continue hitting the ball like that.”

It wound up a Black night. The pitcher Howser described as “the best left-hander in the league last year” was back, displaying the form that seemed all but forgotten this year.

“The ace is back,” shouted Leibrandt as Black strode through a throng of reporters en route to his locker. “Hey, Houdini,” yelled another Royal.

Black had no great insight into his one-game turnaround--or any explanation for his year of pitching dangerously. “This is definitely a big win,” he said. “It’s been a tough year. A lot was expected out of me. Maybe this will even things up for me.

“I can’t pinpoint what happened. Maybe I didn’t make the proper adjustments earlier in the season. Tonight, I just had a better fastball. When you can locate your fastball where you want, with velocity, you’re going to have some success.”

Black thanked Howser for the opportunity, for keeping him in the rotation when lean times grew even more lean. “He hung in there with me,” Black said. “I don’t know why.”

Howser said he knows why.

“For the most part, he’s been hit a little and walked some people and given up some runs, but it was never ‘He’s lost it,’ ” Howser said. “It’s tough to defend him because of his record, but he still had good stuff. The stuff’s there.