In Texas Wind, Angels Blow It in Ninth, 10-9

Wind-aided though it may have been Thursday night, Angel offense does indeed live.

Staggering into Arlington Stadium after losing four of five games--and managing just four runs in those defeats--the Angels ran into elements as unpredictable as the team that makes its home here. The wind gusted in and out, taking fly balls with it, and for the Angels, the result was 9 runs and 16 hits.

The Texas Rangers, however, rode the currents to 21 hits, the final one coming with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and giving them a wild 10-9 victory.

Scott Fletcher’s dying line drive to left field--his fifth hit of the game in six at-bats--decided it, scoring pinch-runner Jeff Kunkel from second base against Gary Lucas, the Angels’ fifth pitcher of the game. It made the Angels losers for the fifth time in their six games since clinching the American League West championship, but for once, Manager Gene Mauch was interested in something other than the bottom line.

“I didn’t like everything I saw out there, but we swung the bats good,” Mauch said. “That really made me feel good.”

Such a hitting outburst was due. During the last week, the Angels had been shut out by Texas’ Charlie Hough, 1-0, had been held to one run by Kansas City’s Mark Gubicza and Bud Black and had been two-hit by the Royals’ Danny Jackson.

But Thursday night, the Angel attack was whipped into shape, partly on account of the wind and partly on account of those storied power hitters, Gary Pettis and Devon White.

Pettis, who had gone nearly three major league seasons without hitting a home run against left-handed pitching, broke the spell last Friday against Texas’ Mike Mason. Matched against Mason again in this game, Pettis did it again--delivering a three-run home run over the center-field fence in the fourth inning.

The following inning, White hit his first big league home run.

Yes, the wind was definitely weird.

“The damnedest thing I ever saw,” Mauch said. “I’ve been to Candlestick, I’ve been to Jarry Park (former home of the Montreal Expos), I’ve been to Wrigley Field, Comiskey . . . and two county fairs. And I’ve never run into a wind like that.

“It wasn’t the most severe, but it was the strangest. The ball would sail normal for a while, but once it got past 250 feet, it would carry unbelievably.”

Pettis, who benefited from the wind at the plate, also was cursed by it in the field.

“It’s worse here than it is in Chicago,” Pettis said. “In Chicago, at least you have an idea of where the wind is going to blow. Here, you have no idea where the ball is going.

“On some hitters, it blows in; on others, it blows out. Sometimes, it blows side to side. When you hit it real high, that’s when you run into problems.”

Texas’ Larry Parrish started the Rangers’ ninth-inning rally by hitting the ball high. White, the Angel right fielder, appeared to have a bead on the ball, drifted back . . . and back some more . . . and back until his back was against the wall.

So was the ball. Parrish’s fly bounced high off the fence for a double that set the stage for two Texas runs.

“Parrish popped the ball up,” Mauch lamented. “It was a tough night to pitch for anybody.”

Terry Forster, who pitched the sixth and seventh innings and allowed two runs, could attest to that.

“The first inning, I didn’t have clue with anything I threw,” Forster said. “It’s worse than Candlestick. At Candlestick, it’s cold and you gear up for it. Here, it always seems to gust at the wrong time. It does affect you, no doubt.”

It also affected the Angel hitters, who complained a little less. Rick Burleson had had four singles and three runs batted in, Doug DeCinces had one RBI, Wally Joyner and Dick Schofield each had two hits and Pettis had a double and a single to go along with his home run.

“I’m sure the wind helped a bit,” Pettis said of his homer. “But it probably helps them a lot more. They play here. They’re used to it.”

And Thursday night, the Rangers used it to score their first home victory of the season against the team that blew past them for the division title.

Angel Notes Ten Angel pitchers are eligible for the playoffs but Manager Gene Mauch is going to take only nine to Boston. One member of the bullpen won’t make the postseason roster and the odd-man-out pitcher figures to be either Vern Ruhle, rookie Chuck Finley or Terry Forster. Mauch said he will make his decision Monday. Said Forster: “I look at it like this: Everybody on this team got us here, and they’re gonna take who they’re gonna take. We’ve all job a job to do, so do it. If you worry about it, it’s see ya later.” Forster would seem to be safe for two reasons. One, he’s a left-hander and so are three of the top hitters in Boston’s lineup--Wade Boggs, Bill Buckner and Rich Gedman. Two, he has not allowed an earned run in four appearances against the Red Sox this year. Finley also throws left-handed. Ruhle, a right-hander, yielded three runs in one stint of 4 innings against Boston and would seem the likely candidate to be left behind. . . . Bob Boone is No. 2 on the all-time list for career games caught, passing Rick Ferrell, who played in the majors from 1929 to 1947, by catching game No. 1,807th Thursday night. Boone figures to be No. 1 this time next year. Record-holder Al Lopez, who played from 1928 to 1947, caught a total of 1,918 games--111 more than Boone. . . . Doug DeCinces’ RBI gave him 94 for the season. His career high is 97, which he set in 1982.