Angels Blasted by Milwaukee--This Time, 16-5

In the American League East, where the last shall be first, at least in the second week of May, the Cleveland Indians aren’t alone when it comes to early-season social climbing. The Milwaukee Brewers, 90-game losers in 1985, are a surprising 15-12 after Friday night.

And they couldn’t have done it without the Angels.

The Brewers remained undefeated against the Angels in 1986, boosting their record to 4-0 against them with a 16-5 victory before an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 40,716.

And they did it with the panache and flair of their baseball-crushing days of 1982, when they trampled AL pitching on the way to the World Series.

Cecil Cooper hit two home runs and drove in five runs. Robin Yount scored three runs and Jim Gantner two.

The Brewers batted around twice--sending 11 men to the plate in the third inning and 10 in the ninth. All told, they amassed 18 hits--6 for extra bases.

Oh yes. They also allowed a few hits. They gave starter Tim Leary 10 runs to work with--and he couldn’t get out of the fifth inning. Three Brewer pitchers combined to allow 5 runs on 10 hits.

And Milwaukee still won by 11 runs. Just like old times.

All this came after sweeping the Angels in Milwaukee last weekend, an event that left the Angels feeling they had been beaten into submission by a feather pillow.

Game 1 was a one-run loss, decided by a controversial home run. Game 2 was a one-run loss, decided in the 10th inning. Game 3 was a 5-3 loss, after the Angels had led, 2-0, in the fifth.

“We could have taken two out of three, easy,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said.

The Brewers left no doubt about this one. They took a 7-0 advantage by scoring seven runs in the third inning, their biggest outburst of the season.

And when the Angels pulled within 11-5 in the eighth inning, Milwaukee came up with five more runs in the ninth.

Already, the Brewers have defeated the Angels more often in 1986 than they had last season. In 1985, Milwaukee was 3-9 against California.

“We beat that club pretty bad last year,” Mauch said. “Things are going their way now.

“We had six, eight, 10 games like that last year. You stand around the bench and take it and get ready for tomorrow.”

Long before Friday night’s game was over, the Angels were preparing for tomorrow. Starting pitcher Kirk McCaskill, who surrendered five runs in 2-plus innings, had showered and hit the road by the final out.

“If you’re looking for McCaskill,” a voice called out from the Angels’ training room, “he’s on the 55 (Freeway), going south.”

Terry Forster had to stick around till the end. The Angels’ fourth pitcher, he allowed the Brewers’ last two runs.

“What are ya going to do?” Forster said. “What goes around, comes around. Nobody’s that good.”

McCaskill retired Milwaukee without a hit in the first two innings but didn’t get an out in the third. He faced six batters in the inning. All of them reached base. Five scored.

A double by Bill Schroeder, a single by Paul Molitor and a single by Earnest Riles gave the Brewers their first run. Cooper’s three-run home run into the right-field seats made it 4-0.

A single by Yount, a walk to Billy Jo Robidoux . . . and McCaskill was out of the game. It was McCaskill’s shortest stint of the year: 2-plus innings, 5 hits, 5 runs.

Mauch summed up McCaskill’s outing in one word: “Bad.”

But for Mauch, what happened later was more painful to watch. The Brewers roughed up three more Angel relievers--Ken Forsch, T.R. Bryden and Forster. Forsch allowed 5 runs in 2 innings, Bryden 4 in 3.

“It isn’t McCaskill I’m worried about,” Mauch said. “He’ll be all right. But when you start tearing up a bullpen, that’s no fun.”

Despite receiving a 10-run gift, Brewer starter Leary was unable to collect the win. He gave up three runs in the fourth inning and allowed the first two batters he faced in the fifth to reach base. This made Milwaukee Manager George Bamberger, six-run lead and all, edgy--so out came Leary with no outs in the fifth.

In came Danny Darwin, who got Doug DeCinces to bounce into a double play and George Hendrick to strike out, setting himself in position for his second victory of the season.

Angel highlights? Well, Wally Joyner collected his 27th and 28th RBIs of the season. Rob Wilfong had the 82nd bunt single of his career. Ruppert Jones and Dick Schofield had doubles.

And the Angels have another game tonight. That was their biggest solace Friday.

Angel Notes

Ron Romanick, a player representative at age 24 last year, called a team meeting before Friday’s game to select a successor. “It shouldn’t be forced on someone young and vulnerable,” Romanick said. Well, the players weren’t talking after the meeting, but word is that the Angels’ new player rep will be Wally Joyner, a 23-year-old rookie. The official announcement is scheduled Tuesday. . . . Terry Forster has experience as a player representative. One day’s worth. “They named me player rep this year in Atlanta,” Forster said. “They fired me after one day. I got to collect the flower fund (for players’ wives), 20 bucks from each guy--$540. I got released the next day. I took the money and went to Disney World.”

Gene Mauch said the Angels didn’t appeal Gary Pettis’ suspension mainly because of the length of the suspension--two days. “If he appeals it and they cut it in half, it ain’t worth the trouble,” Mauch said. “If it was a 10-day suspension, it’d be different.” Mauch had said in Toronto, when Pettis was ejected in a bumping incident with umpire John Shulock, that the player shouldn’t draw a suspension when the umpire “was just as physical.” Friday, Mauch tempered that view. “If Gary does not get a suspension or a reprimand, there’d be a big stink,” he said. “You just can’t bump into an umpire and not get suspended. I don’t think they needed to suspend him, except they suspended (Toronto’s) George Bell last year for doing basically the same thing.” Also, the timing of Pettis’ suspension is fortuitous for the Angels; Pettis is still hobbled with a deep knee bruise. Either way, he can’t play, so the suspension is almost moot. Mauch: “He might have been able to do a little something (today). I don’t know what.”