Angels, Going Backward Into Playoffs, Lose Again

If the clubhouse attendants at Anaheim Stadium scrounge around long enough, they are bound to find at least one half-empty champagne bottle left over from last Friday’s title celebration.

If so, what’s inside cannot possibly be as flat as the Angels are now.

Since clinching their third American League West championship, the Angels have won only one of seven games. Their third straight defeat came Friday night at Arlington Stadium as Kirk McCaskill and Donnie Moore fell to the Texas Rangers, 6-1.

Now, the Angels may be getting on in years, and maybe the body doesn’t bounce back from hangovers as quickly, but this is making some people uneasy.

After the latest setback, Manager Gene Mauch watched several reporters settle into the sofas in his office and asked, “Are you comfortable? Because I’m not.”

Sure, these games are meaningless. Sure, Mauch is experimenting with his pitching and playing some of the long-lost reserves on the end of the bench. Sure, the Angels are just playing out the string.

But only two games remain before they go to Boston. The Angels might be advised to win one of them. Just to remember the sensation.

“The baseball can do funny things,” Mauch said. “For two months, it did exactly what it was told to do. We’ve got two more days to get its attention and get it straightened out.”

The Angels managed all of three hits against Texas pitchers Bobby Witt (11-9), Mitch Williams and Greg Harris. Were it not for Ruppert Jones’ home run off the right-field foul pole in the fourth inning, the Angels would have been shut out for the third time this week.

McCaskill (17-10) pitched well enough for seven innings but lacked support--both offensively and defensively. McCaskill struck out eight, including seven of the last eight batters he faced, but gave up a solo home run to Jeff Kunkel, an RBI single by Larry Parrish and an unearned run when Gary Pettis failed to cleanly field that single.

The error was Pettis’ seventh of the season. The home run was Kunkel’s first in more than two years.

Moore then came on, and the Rangers sprayed the ball around. Kunkel singled. Pete O’Brien singled. Pete Incaviglia singled. Ruben Sierra tripled.

All that in one inning. Texas scored three times to put the game away.

That, more than the loss, concerned Mauch.

“I really didn’t like seeing Donnie get knocked around,” Mauch said. “We have to find out if there’s anything that needs to be straightened out. I’ve got to bet he and Lach (pitching coach Marcel Lachemann) are studying the tape right now.”

Mauch was right.

“Mechanically, I was all screwed up,” Moore said. “I was just lost out there. The film showed me falling off the mound to the first-base side. That tells me I was rushing my pitches a lot.”

The appearance was Moore’s second in the last week. He had asked for rest after the title-clincher and he received some.

Now it’s time to get in some serious preparation.

“Definitely,” Moore agreed. “That’s why I’ve got to get out there. I’ll pitch Sunday, and then the adrenaline will take over the rest.”

That’s the Angels’ hope, anyway.

“I guarantee we’ll be ready,” Doug DeCinces said. “This is just like getting ready for the start of the season. We’re running a lot of people in there, making sure everybody gets some work.

“What does momentum mean in the playoffs? Kansas City came into the playoffs last year with all the momentum in the world and lost the first two games in Toronto. They were terrible in those games.

“I wouldn’t think we’re playing really bad baseball. If we were, I’d be concerned. I’m not worried about anything. These games mean nothing.”

Angel Notes

Add Momentum: Reggie Jackson, who went 0 for 4 Friday night, has 2 hits in his last 27 at-bats (.074). Bobby Grich has 2 hits in his last 31 at-bats (.065). Mike Witt, who will start Game 1 of the playoffs, has not won since Sept. 18. In his last three starts, Witt is 0-2 with a no-decision--allowing 19 hits and 12 earned runs in his last 14 innings. His ERA over that span: 7.36 . . . It Only Hurts When He Talks: George Hendrick suffered a split lip when he was hit by an errant throw during batting practice. Hendrick received two stitches to close the wound and did not play Friday night. . . . Vern Ruhle, on the possibility of being left off the Angels’ playoff roster: “Nobody that plays the game wants to be in that position. It’s the dream of every player to be in the playoffs. We do all the sprints, all the exercises, pitched to the best of our abilities. But I know there’s a limited (playoff) roster.” Ten Angels pitchers are eligible for the postseason, but Gene Mauch said he will carry only nine. Ruhle is 1-3 with a 4.43 ERA. “I don’t know what the criteria is, but I’ve pitched well over the years against Boston,” Ruhle said. “And I’m a right-hander, which could help in the games we play in Boston.” Ruhle was alluding to Fenway Park’s Green Monster in left field, traditionally a killer to left-handed pitchers.