Brewers Beat Angels in 12th to Make It 17-1

The Milwaukee Brewers, scoring one run in the ninth inning and three in the 12th Monday night, defeated the Angels, 10-7, to improve a record that is almost impossible to improve.

Near perfect at 17-1, the Brewers lost leads of 5-0 and 6-4 before rallying for a 7-7 tie off Donnie Moore in the ninth, then winning it at the expense of Chuck Finley in the 12th, when Manager Gene Mauch employed some strange strategy.

A crowd of 32,290 at Anaheim Stadium saw the Angels waste a three-run homer and RBI double by Jack Howell en route to their third straight loss.

Paul Mirabella, the fourth Milwaukee pitcher, gained the win, pitching two hitless innings.

Left-hander Finley, brought on to pitch the 12th after Moore had worked three innings, was greeted by a Jim Ganter single. A walk and sacrifice put runners at second and third with one out. The batter was the right-handed-hitting Glenn Braggs, who had earlier homered and singled.

First base was open. The on-deck batter was left-handed-hitting Greg Brock, who has hit .102, .176, .208 and .219 in each of the last four seasons against left-handed pitching. Mauch chose to have Finley pitch to Braggs, who belted a two-run double.

Finley then got Brock to ground out before Rick Manning blooped a single to score the third run of the decisive inning.

Mauch, in explaining his decision to pitch to Braggs, said he was concerned about Finley’s control.

“I’ll walk the bases loaded when I’m sure I won’t get a base on balls.” Mauch said.

The Brewers, who arrived as the league leaders in team batting (.299) and runs scored (a 6.5 per-game average), wasted no time showing how they have done it.

They scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the fourth, generating memories of Mike Witt’s last start in which he worked only three innings against the Oakland A’s and was rocked for six hits and six earned runs.

Witt pitched eight innings in this one, yielding seven hits and six runs, five of which were earned.

Paul Molitor, the Brewer leadoff hitter, opened the attack against Witt with a single to center. He was on third with two outs when ex-Dodger Brock singled to right for a 1-0 lead and Brock’s 15th RBI.

Rob Deer then blasted his ninth home run, into the left-field bleachers, a towering drive said to be 391 feet in distance and at least that high. Deer leads the American League in home runs and is tied with Cal Ripken of Baltimore for the RBI lead at 21.

Witt retired the next seven batters in order before Brock walked to open the fourth. Deer singled to left, putting Brock on second. Cecil Cooper then hit a grounder toward first baseman Wally Joyner, who was in position to field it when the ball caromed off his right knee and into foul territory, allowing Brock to score and Deer to take third.

Joyner was charged with an error, compounding the pain in his knee. He was on the ground for several minutes before walking it off and deciding to continue. An ensuing fly to center by B.J. Surhoff scored Deer with the fifth Milwaukee run.

The inning ended when Ganter lifted a pop-up to shallow left where shortstop Dick Schofield made the catch just before butting heads with Howell, who was momentarily stunned, then trotted to the dugout.

Howell and Joyner came back in the bottom of the fourth to help the Angels reduce the deficit to 5-4 with a four-run uprising that exemplified the inconsistency that Brewer starter Juan Nieves has experienced.

The 22-year-old left-hander lost his last eight starts while going 11-12 as a rookie last year. He pitched a no-hitter against Baltimore in his second start of the new season, but permitted 16 hits and 9 earned runs in the 10 innings of his two other starts.

Nieves had yielded only one hit before Joyner, who would leave two innings later because of the bruised knee, grounded a single to center, opening the fourth. A one-out walk to Doug DeCinces and a two-out single by Darrell Miller made it 5-1. Howell then ripped his third homer to make it 5-4.

The Brewers extended their lead to 6-4 in the sixth when Braggs hit a two-out homer to right, his third and the 27th for the Brewers, who share the league lead in that category with the Angels.

Chris Boscio came on to face the Angels in the bottom of the sixth and immediately got into trouble when Devon White singled with one out.

Howell then drew a two-out walk and Gary Pettis singled to left to score White. A walk to Mark McLemore loaded the bases, but Brian Downing then grounded back to Boscio, preserving the Brewers’ 6-5 lead.

Briefly. A single by Miller with one out in the eighth brought in Mark Clear, who promptly yielded a game-tying double to Howell. A two-out single by McLemore gave the Angels their first lead.

Moore was summoned to protect it, but Milwaukee mustered the magic it has displayed all season.

Singles by Cooper, Surhoff and Molitor got the Brewers even at 7-7.

Molitor’s grounder in the hole between first and second would have won the game, but McLemore made a diving stop on the grass to restrict the damage to one run--and Moore then got Robin Yount on a fly to center, ending the inning.

Moore walked off to a cascade of boos, and the Angels then failed to win it for him in the home ninth when Clear loaded the bases by issuing three straight walks with two outs.

Relief ace Dan Plesac replaced Clear and struck out Howell, putting the game into extra innings.

Angel Notes

Bob Boone worked out with Dave Kingman at El Dorado High in Placentia Monday, then attended the game at Anaheim Stadium. Boone refused to comment on his expected re-signing with the Angels Friday. Would he be ready to play right away if he does sign? “I think so, but I don’t know. It would be a big challenge for me, but I think I’m ready. I’ve stepped up my preparations. I obviously can’t duplicate games, but sometimes you can catch lightning in a bottle. Sometimes you can step in for your first at-bat of spring training and take right off.” . . . Boone said there have been no meaningful offers from other clubs.

Out three months: Angel pitcher Kirk McCaskill has arthroscopic surgery on his elbow and is expected to miss three months. Story, Page 4.