Candelaria Is Sharp for Angels, 1-0

You would have to excuse John Candelaria if he found it difficult to concentrate on pitching Saturday night.

His right calf was still numb, and there were more than enough reminders of his arrest early Friday morning for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to heed traffic signs.

Candelaria arrived at Anaheim Stadium Saturday afternoon to find a life-size cardboard stop sign hung on his locker and his blue road jersey turned into a mock prison uniform with vertical stripes made from adhesive tape.

Candelaria managed a smile, got his leg taped and then went out and rolled through the Minnesota Twins’ lineup for 7 innings.

The veteran left-hander yielded just 4 hits, walked 2 and struck out 3 as the Angels beat the Twins, 1-0, before a crowd of 36,881. Donnie Moore worked the last 1 innings to earn his second save of the season.

The two pitchers combined for the Angels’ first 1-0 win at Anaheim Stadium since June 9, 1985.

The Angels are 8-3 and off to the best start in club history, a record equaled by the 1974, ’79 and ’82 teams.

“I thought I threw pretty well,” Candelaria said. “The breaking ball was moving well, and the split-finger (fastball) was moving down. I just wish this numbness would disappear so I could pitch a little longer. The longer I throw, the weaker it gets.”

Angel Manager Gene Mauch admitted that he is worried about Candelaria’s leg, but he isn’t complaining about his pitching.

“It concerns me because it makes it so difficult for me to make up my mind about what to do and when to do it,” he said. “It (going to the bullpen) is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do because his arm feels like a million dollars.”

If the Angels had more than a one-run lead, Mauch might have let Candelaria gimp it out. But Minnesota starter Frank Viola (1-1), who went the distance and allowed just six hits, was pitching well himself.

Viola, who had won four in a row over the Angels since losing, 14-2, on Aug. 2, 1984 here, retired 13 in a row after Doug DeCinces’ single to center leading off the second inning.

The Angels pushed across the game’s only run in the seventh, but Viola should have gotten out of the inning unscathed.

With one out, DeCinces lined his second single to center, which meant the Angels were up to two for the game. Dick Schofield then hit a shot that glanced off the glove of shortstop Greg Gagne for a single.

After Devon White fouled out, Butch Wynegar bounced a chopper over Viola’s head. Viola leaped and got a piece of the ball, and second baseman Steve Lombardozzi managed to backhand it behind second, but his off-balance throw went over first baseman Kent Hrbek’s head into the Minnesota dugout.

DeCinces sauntered home. It was the veteran third baseman’s 342nd run scored as an Angel, which put him at No. 7 on the club’s all-time list.

“I threw it in the bleeping bleep- house,” Lombardozzi said. “What else can I say? I’ve made that play 100 times. I should have made it this time. I just got rid of it too quick.”

Candelaria walked Lombardozzi leading off the eighth, and after Tom Nieto sacrificed, Mauch went to Moore, who struck out Dan Gladden looking and got pinch-hitter Randy Bush to pop up.

“They may have hit the ball a little better than we did tonight,” Mauch said, “but we caught it a little better, and that was the difference.”

That and the strong left arm of John Candelaria.

Candelaria said a few fans had some remarks about his brush with the law, but he was able to put them in perspective.

“They pay the price for their ticket and they have the right to say what they want,” he said. “It was an unfortunate incident. I got caught, I deserved to get caught and I’ll pay the fine.

“It was embarrassing, and I’m sorry about it. But what I do on my off days is my business. That’s not to say that’s what I always do on my off days . . . “

Saturday was one of John Candelaria’s “on” days, however, and the Angels hired him as a starter not a stopper, anyway.

Angel Notes

Slumping Wally Joyner took extra batting practice Saturday afternoon and said he has reached a point where he’s “getting quality at-bats and hitting the ball hard again.” Joyner took a .182 batting average into Saturday night’s game. “He just needs to get back into the rhythm and regain his confidence,” said third base coach Moose Stubing, who stood behind the batting cage, offering advice. “We’re not working on anything in particular. Wally’s not used to dealing with slumps. Not too many .300 hitters are. But it happens. Wally’s not the only guy hitting a buck-82 now who’ll be around .300 at the end of the season. But it’s a lot easier to come down from .400 than up from .182, so he might as well get it straightened out as soon as possible.” That, of course, is the reason for the extra batting practice. Joyner doesn’t seem to be too worried, though. “It was a matter of mechanics,” he said, “but the problem has been solved now. Everybody goes through something like this at least once a year. Hopefully, this is my once.” . . . Gary Pettis is off to a quick start--he came into Saturday’s game with a .314 average and 8 hits in 10 games--but he isn’t satisfied, either. “I don’t think I’m off to that good of a start,” he said. “I’m doing OK, but it’s nothin’ to sit on.” . . . The latest issue of Sports Illustrated, which contains a list of every major league player’s salary, isn’t exactly eliciting rave reviews from most of the players. Third baseman Doug DeCinces: “I think it is a step down for them. I always thought Sports Illustrated was a class magazine and above that sort of thing. It’s just not necessary. It’s like they had nothing else to write about or else they’re in the owners’ pockets and are trying to make it look like everyone is overpaid.” . . . Manager Gene Mauch, a shortstop for much of his playing career, was praising the defensive abilities of shortstop Dick Schofield and second baseman Mark McLemore when he paused to reflect on how the game has changed. “Good-fielding middle infielders will always be at a premium,” he said. “In my day, though, it seemed like they grew on trees. Shake any tree, and 26 Gene Mauchs would fall down.” . . . The Angel staff’s earned-run average was 3.24 before Saturday night’s game, second-best in the American League. Detroit was first at 2.14.