Hendrick Helps Sutton Get Win No. 313, 12-0

Obviously, a lot of things went right for the Angels Sunday in a 12-0 rout of the Kansas City Royals:

--Don Sutton, finally succeeding in his eighth attempt at career victory No. 313, combined with Greg Minton on a seven-hitter to give the Angels their second shutout in less than 24 hours.

--George Hendrick, making his first start since April after coming off the disabled list last week, drove in four runs with a single and a three-run home run, his first homer since last September.

--Dick Schofield, whose 4-for-38 slump dropped his batting average below .200 Saturday night, hit a grand slam in the ninth inning.

--Brian Downing, who had shown signs of breaking out of his prolonged slump by going 7 for 19, had three more hits, including a solo homer in the eighth that made him the Angels’ all-time home run leader with 155.

--Bob Boone, who had one run batted in and was 7 for 42 in his last 15 games, drove in two runs with a double and a single.

Clearly, on a sweltering day in which the temperature on the field reached 126 degrees, the heat was on the Royals, who scored only one run in the weekend series but managed to win one game.

Midway through the game, the Royal scoreboard operator apologized for a power outage that knocked the scoreboard out for about 45 minutes.

Perhaps he should have apologized for the Royals’ offense.

“I prefer to think it’s fine pitching,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said. Pitching, though, wasn’t foremost on Mauch’s mind on a day when the Angel bats came alive. And, of all the Angels who showed new signs of life against the lifeless Royals, the one that Mauch wanted to talk about was Hendrick.

“As many good things as happened in today’s game,” Mauch said, “I think having George even ready to do what he did was the most important.”

When Hendrick pinch-hit against the Cleveland Indians last Wednesday night, it was his first at-bat since April 21, the night a pitch by Oakland’s Gene Nelson broke the middle finger on his right hand.

Before Sunday, he had appeared in just five games, batting .071 (1 for 14) with no RBIs.

But he had been hitting well in bating practice--”Better than you have a right to expect,” Mauch said--and against Royal starter Danny Jackson, he sent the Angels on their way.

“He’ll tell you about it,” Mauch said, drawing laughter from a group of reporters all too aware that Hendrick doesn’t speak to the media.

It was left to his teammates to talk about him.

“He’s somebody we’ve really been missing--somebody who pounds left-handers,” Downing said. “I certainly haven’t done it.

“He gave us a big lift.”

Said Sutton: “I’m glad to get rid of my MIA bracelet with George’s name on it.”

The Angels were 6-11 against left-handers, but they teed off on the struggling Jackson, whose record fell to 2-9. Hendrick’s fourth-inning homer made it 6-0 and Jackson was gone soon thereafter.

“Today was one of those days,” Sutton said, “where the best thing I could do was go out there, throw strikes and get us off the field so we could hit some more.”

The Angels had 13 hits, including three in the last two innings against left-hander Bob Shirley, who gave up the home runs to Downing and Schofield in his debut for the Royals.

The Royals, meanwhile, were shut down by Sutton, who hadn’t won since April 25 and whose 3-7 start is the worst in his 22-year career.

He said he struggled through the first two innings, failing to gain command of his curveball, but settled down after junking the breaking pitch.

“I think, obviously, things haven’t gone too well for me and things haven’t turned out the way that I would have liked them to,” he said. “So, today, I walked out there, kind of jumping toward the plate and not being comfortable.

“And then, at the end of the second inning, I just walked in and sat down in the tunnel and said, ‘Wait a minute. It’s a hot day. If I don’t just relax and throw the ball comfortably, I’m not going to be out there very long.’ ”

He lasted seven innings, striking out five and walking only one.

Angel Notes

Dick Schofield was 0 for 3 with two walks before hitting his fourth career grand slam onto the grassy hill beyond the left-field fence. “Right at that time,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said, “Schofield probably needed a hit more than anybody in the world.” . . . Schofield, though, said he still hasn’t shaken his slump. “I’m still right where I was,” he said. “I’ve just got one more hit.” The Angel shortstop is 5 for 42. . . . Brian Downing didn’t ask for the ball after hitting his home run, which moved him past Bobby Grich and into first place on the Angels’ all-time list. “I don’t save anything,” he said. “I never have, and there’s no reason to start now.” Of the record, Downing said: “I don’t have any strong feelings about it. It’s more or less a matter of longevity more than anything. . . . It’s not something I’m jumping up and down about.”

How hot was it? “It was hot enough,” Don Sutton said, “that when we threw the ball around the infield, I stood on the rubber and let them throw it to me. I wasn’t going to go out and meet anybody. And the sun was bright enough that you didn’t see anybody volunteering for popups.” . . . George Brett, who came off the disabled list Friday after missing 24 games because of a partial ligament tear in his right knee, was 0 for 4 Sunday and 2 for 11 in the series, but hit the ball well several times. “If you keep George in the ballpark, you feel you’ve done a pretty good job,” Angel catcher Bob Boone said.