Angels Get a Wet and Wild Win : Witt, Buice Combine to Beat Tigers, 5-1

Rain interrupted this game twice, delaying play for a total of 84 minutes, but there was more in the air Monday night than just moisture.

The Angels’ 5-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers featured some great innovations in the art of handling a baseball.

Detroit third baseman Darnell Coles threw a baseball out of the park.

Detroit left fielder Kirk Gibson lost a fly ball in the moon.

And Angel left fielder Ruppert Jones . . . well, let’s just say he played a fly ball somewhat differently than Willie Mays might have.

But more on that later.

The pertinent facts are that Mike Witt and DeWayne Buice, despite the distractions and despite the problematic conditions, combined to limit the Tigers to one run on 11 hits. Witt (5-2) allowed Detroit’s lone run--a home run by Matt Nokes--in 6 innings. After the first delay, Buice came on to earn his second save, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth.

The Tigers filled the bases against Buice on singles by Gibson, Alan Trammell and Pat Sheridan. But Angel Manager Gene Mauch kept Buice on the mound, and the rookie responded by getting the final batter, Nokes, to force Sheridan at second base for the last out.

Now, onto the follies.

Coles, the Tigers’ angry young man, set the mood early. A slumping (.136) hitter on the verge of losing his job at third base, Coles has been told, more or less, that this series is a trial for him. He has three games to produce or else.

So Coles was not in the best of spirits when he grounded to third base with a runner in scoring position in the fourth inning. After trotting out to third, he made a couple customary warmup throws across the infield, fielded one final grounder from first baseman Darrell Evans--and held the ball. Then, Coles turned toward the stands along the left-field line, reared back and heaved the ball out of the stadium.

That’s right--up and over the press box roof. The roof stands 94 feet high, and Coles threw from the infield, so the trajectory was fairly impressive.

Mauch was asked if he’d ever seen anything like it.

The manager grinned.

“Yeah,” he said. “I did it. Once, in Triple A, I did something at the plate I didn’t much like and when I got back on the field, I fired the ball out of the ballpark, like a jerk.

“Fortunately, my manager didn’t take me out of the game. But, then, he liked me. I was his bobo.”

Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson was less enamored with Coles’ move, and promptly removed him from the game in the half-inning. Tom Brookens opened the sixth inning at third for the Tigers.

After the game, Anderson refused to comment on Coles’ tape-measure throw but said it wouldn’t alter his decision to let Coles start the last two games of this series.

Said Coles: “There’s no reason for what I did. I just . . . kind of lobbed it.”

Jones provided more unique entertainment in the bottom of the fifth on a fly ball by Mike Heath.

Heath drove the ball deep to left-center. From where he was stationed, Jones had no chance at the ball. He tried anyway, making an almost comical lunge at the ball--leaping about 15 feet too early and missing the ball by at least that much.

Jones eventually tracked it down on the warning track, and gave the ball a few kicks there, to boot. By the time he trapped the wild thing and relayed it back to the infield, Heath was on third.

Originally, the play was ruled a triple but several innings later, the official scorer changed the call to a double and an error.

“That wasn’t too graceful a play,” Mauch said, able to laugh about it in the aftermath of victory. “That wasn’t Ruppert Jones at his artistic best.

“If he ever sees that play on tape, he’ll say, ‘Awww, that wasn’t me.’ ”

And was that really Kirk Gibson, the Tigers’ million-dollar outfielder, out there in the top of the ninth, camping under an easy fly by Jones and then letting it drop without touching it.

Gibson, apparently had trouble with the ball in the wind, simply missed the ball, pulling the glove in as the ball plopped on the wet grass alongside him.

“He whiffed it, didn’t he?” Mauch said. “The wind was blowing out to right-center by then and when he got that high son-of-a-gun, it blew away on him.”

The play was one of two Detroit errors that led to three Angel unearned runs in the ninth. Brian Downing scored from third on that ball. Then, Devon White, who reached first on an error by first baseman Dave Bergman, scored on an infield grounder by Mark Ryal.

Jones reached first on Gibson’s error but was erased on a force play on a ball hit by Doug DeCinces. DeCinces scored the Angels’ last run on a single by Butch Wynegar.

DeCinces also drove in the Angels’ first run with a first-inning double, scoring Downing from second. White singled home the Angels’ other run in the seventh.

Witt pitched out of trouble in five innings, allowing only Nokes’ home run in the second. It was Nokes’ sixth homer of the season and his third in three games against the Angels.

Witt even overcame Jones’ gaffe, striking out Trammell and retiring Sheridan on a grounder to end the fifth inning.

But he wasn’t able to overcome a rain delay of 49 minutes. When play resumed, Buice replaced Witt on the mound.

“A 30-minute delay would have been too long (for Witt),” Mauch said. “He’d already made 120-some pitches by then.”

Mauch then turned it over to Buice. And it took Buice, the Angels’ resident clubhouse comedian, to restore some sanity to the proceedings.

Angel Notes

Gene Mauch remains undecided about whether John Candelaria will start Wednesday’s game. Candelaria tested his back by running in the outfield before Monday’s game but is still complaining of pain. “I can’t sleep with it,” Candelaria said. “I took some medication in Boston, but then the medication wears off and it hurts more.” Mauch said he may wait until he arrives at the park Wednesday before making a decision, but is considering Mike Cook as an alternative. Originally, left-hander Chuck Finley was Mauch’s back-up for Candelaria, but Finley did not pitch well in his last outing Sunday and Mauch would prefer using a right-hander against Detroit. “The plan would be to start Cook, come in with Finley and close it off with either (DeWayne) Buice or (Donnie) Moore,” Mauch said. “We’re not gonna get nine (innings) out of anybody, but we can go better right-left-right than left-right-left. Right?” . . . Jack Howell was unable to take batting practice before Monday’s game and will probably sit out the rest of the series before having his back examined by Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles Thursday. “We’ll have some X-rays taken on the off-day,” Howell said. “I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about. There’s just some stiffness across the lower back. As soon as I can stretch it out, take some batting practice and if (the back) responds, that’ll be it.” It hasn’t been a great two weeks for Howell. First, his father undergoes double-bypass surgery. Then, a back injury knocks Howell out of the lineup after he hit 3 home runs and 2 doubles in his last six games. Finally, his roommate and close friend, Wally Joyner, loses a brother to a heart attack. “It’s been a tough time,” Howell said. “All you can do is just keep the faith.” . . . Bob Boone became the latest addition to the Angels’ roster of the infirmed. Boone contracted a stomach virus and didn’t attempt to suit up. Butch Wynegar replaced him in the starting lineup and went 1 for 4 with an RBI single.