Downing KOs Brewers With Homer in 10th : McCaskill Strikes Out 12, Picks Up 11th Victory, 3-2

When Angel pitcher Kirk McCaskill and the Milwaukee Brewers last visited, their meeting had all the charm of a prolonged mugging. It was Class Nerd meets Hell’s Angels stuff.

McCaskill, weary of getting sand kicked in his face, didn’t get mad; he got even.

All it took was a career-high 12 strikeouts, a career-high 10 innings, 154 pitches and, just for fun, a high, arching home run from the heretofore slumping Brian Downing in the bottom of the 10th to give the Angels a 3-2 win over the Brewers at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday night.

Good thing, too, since the Angels needed something, anything to save them from a potential bellyflop in the American League West standings.

“This was one of my most satisfying wins because we’ve been a little flat lately, and needed a win to get back on a roll,” McCaskill said.

Flat? The Angels hadn’t hit a homer in three games. No Angel pitcher had a complete game or save since the 12th and 13th of July. They had lost five of their last six games.

Luckily, they have the Texas Rangers, losers of their last seven, in second place, which makes for plenty of reprieves. Once again, the Rangers fizzled Wednesday, enabling the Angels to take a 3 1/2-game lead.

After bumbling scoring chances in the eighth and ninth innings, the Angels reverted to a simpler way of scoring runs.

On a 2-1 count, Downing, who entered the game with one hit in his last 18 at-bats, drove Brewer starter Danny Darwin’s pitch toward left field. Outfielder Rick Manning ran toward the bleachers and, as if he were being chased by security, started climbing the fence in hopes of catching the ball. It landed at least 10 feet beyond his glove.

“I’ve been in a state of confusion for about two weeks, so I can’t say I was looking for a particular pitch,” said Downing, who will use part of his off day at the doctor’s office today trying to rid himself of a persistent cough. “I was just trying to hit the ball hard. It was a mistake and I hit it for a change.

“I’ve been looking terrible, feeling terrible and the results have been terrible,” he said. “But this kind of makes me forget about what’s happened the last 10 days.”

Earlier, the Angels had taken a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a bunt by Bobby Grich that moved Downing to second, but more important, scored Doug DeCinces from third. DeCinces had reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run play by Downing.

Grich accepted congratulations from teammates in the dugout following the bunt, but later said it wasn’t so special after all. “I could lie and say it was a great move,” he said, “but I was just trying to stay out of a double play.”

It was so noted, as was McCaskill’s complete game, his eighth, which places him among the league leaders. McCaskill also finds himself among the elite in strikeouts (131), innings pitched (150), earned-run average (3.17) and wins (11 in 17 decisions).

And a small number of the 27,809 fans who attended, paid special homage to McCaskill by draping cardboard K’s over a stadium rail after each of the strikeouts.

The Angel lead lasted until the third when Paul Molitor singled to begin the inning and scored from first on Cecil Cooper’s double to left-center.

Wally Joyner moved the Angels ahead with his 21st homer of the season, a solo shot that hugged the right-field line. It was his first home run since July 8, coincidentally against Milwaukee, and only his second since June 14. Oddly enough, five of Joyner’s 21 homers have come against the Brewers

Milwaukee moved back into a 2-2 tie in the seventh when, with two outs, Jim Gantner, not known for his power, hit his fourth home run of the season on McCaskill’s first pitch.

No matter. McCaskill would make no more mistakes that cost runs.

“Last year, I might have thought, ‘My gawd, I just gave up a game-tying home run,’ ” he said. “I didn’t let it bother me this time.”

The Brewers had other chances, but McCaskill worked out of a jam in the ninth and made it through the 10th relatively unharmed, except for a walk.

All this was in marked difference to the last time he faced the Brewers. The final score that May 9 evening at Anaheim Stadium was 16-5, with McCaskill responsible for five of the Milwaukee runs. He never made it out of the second inning and saw his record drop to 2-3 and his earned-run average climb to an unattractive 4.85.

So poor was the performance, that he made a beeline out of the clubhouse after the game, prompting a teammate to say, “If you’re looking for McCaskill, he’s on the 55 (freeway) headed south.”

“Bad,” was how Manager Gene Mauch described McCaskill’s two innings.

Not so Wednesday. “Must have been a beauty,” Mauch said afterward. “How many hits did we get?”

Five, but who is counting? No need. McCaskill got his win, Downing and Joyner got their home runs and the Angels got well for at least one night.

Angel Notes Reliever Terry Forster, who is recovering from a sprained right ankle, should return to the bullpen within the next several days “to be on the safe side,” General Manager Mike Port said. “He would be willing to take it out there today.”. . . . Rookie pitcher Ray Chadwick arrived at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday. Chadwick, who is scheduled to start Tuesday in Oakland, threw for about 15 minutes. He becomes the 17th pitcher to appear on the Angel roster this season. Last year, the Angels used 19 pitchers. “I feel I’ll get my chance and make the best of it,” he said. “If I do well and get sent down, then I don’t have anything to be ashamed of.” Chadwick had been told earlier in the season, when the Angels needed relief help, that they wanted him to remain a starter. He takes Ron Romanick’s place as the fifth starter. Romanick will start Saturday in Edmonton. . . . Port said reliever Stewart Cliburn is doing well in Edmonton and that he remains a candidate for any future moves involving the bullpen. Pitcher Urbano Lugo has been less impressive. Port said his once-injured elbow is fine “and his health is the main thing.” . . . The latest rumor involves Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Rick Rhoden going to the Boston Red Sox. If so, Port said he expects any deal would involve Rhoden in exchange for a front-line starting pitcher and at least one other player. “If I was the Pittsburgh club, that’s what I would want,” he said. . . . The Angels honored Don Sutton in a pregame ceremony before Wednesday evening’s game. Included in the telegrams read during the ceremony were messages from Gaylord Perry and Steve Carlton. Carlton’s telegram began: “While I may be a man of few words. . . .” The Angels are off today. They begin a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday at Anaheim Stadium.