Angel Hitters Start Hitting Again : Joyner Leads an Encouraging Night for Slumping Offense

With so much attention focused on the Angels’ pitching problems this month, the team’s worst offensive slump of the season has gone virtually unnoticed.

To everyone but the Angel hitters, that is.

You didn’t have to remind first baseman Wally Joyner Wednesday night that he had gone 6 for 35 in his last nine games.

And third baseman Doug DeCinces was well aware that he had driven in only two runs since May 3 and was 3 for 20 in the past six games.

Left fielder Jack Howell wasn’t overlooking the fact that, before the Angels’ game against Toronto, he had but one hit in 15 at-bats and had not recorded an RBI since May 6.

And you knew Dick Schofield’s 3-for-48 slump was more than a minor concern for the shortstop.

But they all put such miseries behind them in the Angels’ 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays Wednesday in Anaheim Stadium.

Joyner had the game’s biggest hit, a home run into the right-field bleachers in the 10th inning off Toronto reliever Tom Henke, who had not allowed a run in 22 innings this season.

DeCinces had two hits, including a two-run single to center field in the first inning.

Howell lined an RBI triple to right field in the sixth inning to give the Angels a 4-1 cushion, which proved invaluable when Toronto scored three runs in the ninth to tie the score, 4-4.

Schofield’s contributions were minor--his only hit was a single to left field, and he later scored on DeCinces’ hit. But that was a veritable offensive outburst compared to what he has done with the bat lately.

If you thought the Angels’ pitching was bad, you haven’t seen the team’s offensive statistics lately. Before Wednesday night, the Angels were hitting .209 (92 for 429) in their last 13 games. The Angels were ranked 10th in the American League in offense with a team batting average of .252.

But a game such as Wednesday’s, in which the Angels had nine hits, including their first home run in 56 innings, a triple and two doubles, can only help matters.

“We still have a long way to go, but, hopefully, a win like this will get us over the top,” said Joyner, whose home run was the Angels’ first since Mark Ryal homered against Detroit on May 13. “With the Yankees coming in Friday (for a four-game series), we have to be at our best. Hopefully, we can get some wins off their staff, too.”

DeCinces was a bit more cautious in his evaluation of the Angel offense.

“I don’t consider it coming out of a slump when you have a three-run lead in the ninth inning and have to go into extra innings to win,” he said.

But DeCinces is not too concerned with his recent statistics, which he says have been deceiving.

“I’ve been hitting the ball well, I just haven’t been getting any hits,” he said. “Other than one game against (Toronto pitcher Jim) Clancy, I’ve hit the ball hard the past five games. But when you’re losing, 12-0, and getting pounded, it’s not as easy going up there as it is in a normal situation.”

DeCinces, Schofield and Joyner got the Angels off to a good start Wednesday night. Schofield led off with a single to left and Joyner followed with a single to right.

After Jimmy Key’s balk advanced the runners, DeCinces flared a single to center to score both runners. He also singled in the third inning and lined out to third baseman Kelly Gruber in the fifth.

Howell scored the team’s second run, coming all the way from first on Mark McLemore’s double in the fourth to give California a 3-1 lead. He then tripled to right-center in the sixth to score Bob Boone from first for a 4-1 lead.

The Angels appeared headed for disappointment when Toronto tied the game in the ninth, but Joyner came back in the 10th to give the team its second straight victory.

“It’s a start any time you win two in a row,” Schofield said. “I don’t know if we’re in a slump, but we haven’t been playing well. Maybe this will be a good omen.”