Angels Swoon at Sight of Sveum

You probably can’t pronounce his name--and Friday night, the Angels certainly couldn’t pitch to him--but this morning, Dale Sveum occupies space in the Milwaukee Brewers’ record book alongside some of the slugging legends from the club’s wall-banging past.

In a 12-2 rout of the Angels before a crowd of 19,858 at County Stadium, Sveum (say, Swaim ) became the fourth Brewer to hit three home runs in a game and the second to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game.

Left-handed, Sveum delivered his 10th and 11th home runs of the season against Mike Witt--the first hits of his career off Witt. Right-handed, Sveum victimized Chuck Finley for No. 12.

The first was a solo shot to right, landing 380 feet from home plate.

The second was a two-run homer to dead center field, checking in at 425 feet.

The third went over the left-field fence, brought home three runs and also measured 425 feet.

Sveum went to all fields and totaled 6 RBIs as he joined Ben Oglivie, Cecil Cooper and Paul Molitor as the only Brewers to hit three homers in one game. And previously, only Ted Simmons had matched Sveum’s switch-hitting home run feat.

This leads to one obvious question:

Who is Dale Sveum?

Quick fact I: This isn’t his first stab at baseball history. A year ago, as a rookie utility player, Sveum made 26 errors in 65 games at third base. His .865 fielding percentage was the lowest by an American League third baseman since the turn of the century.

Quick fact II: He’s regarded as an all-league bubblegum chewer, often photographed blowing bubbles while fielding grounders or sliding into home.

Quick fact III: This season, he was the Brewers’ opening-day shortstop by attrition, filling in when Ernest Riles and Edgar Diaz got hurt. And he was there as Milwaukee began 1987 with 13 consecutive victories--hitting a game-winning home run on Easter Sunday to extend the streak to 12, which broke the AL record.

“I’ll never forget Easter Sunday,” Sveum said. “That was to win a game and to break a record. But I’ll never forget this, either.”

The Angels would like to. Not only did Angel pitching surrender Sveum’s three home runs, but Witt, Finley, Gary Lucas and Greg Minton combined to yield 20 hits--a season-high for Milwaukee. Four of those hits, including a two-run home run off Witt, belonged to Rob Deer--a personal high.

The Brewers batted around twice, scoring five runs in the fourth inning and six in the seventh. Both innings were highlighted by home runs by Sveum, who bats ninth for Milwaukee. He took a .229 average into the game and started at second base in place of another injured player, Jim Gantner.

“I guess I’m locked in at second base,” Sveum joked.

Sveum, 23, seemed as surprised as anyone by his sudden power surge.

No, he had never hit three home runs in a game before--not in Little League, not anywhere.

No, he had never hit much of anything off Witt. “I don’t think I’d even hit a ball hard off him,” Sveum said. “He usually gets me out all the time. I had no confidence whatsoever before the game. He owned me.”

Before Friday, Sveum was 0 for 6 with 3 strikeouts against Witt.

But in Witt’s short stint of 3 innings, Sveum went 2 for 2 with 2 homers.

Witt (11-6) blamed himself.

“I could not put the ball where I wanted to put it,” he said. “I think he hit a low curveball for the first one--he went out and got it. The second was a high fastball, and he jumped all over it.

“I don’t believe in the numbers, when a guy’s 0 for 15 against you or whatever. If you don’t make the pitches, those numbers don’t mean anything. And that was the case tonight.”

Sveum, meanwhile, credited a change in his hitting approach.

“I changed stances over the (All-Star) break,” said Sveum, who ranks second on the Brewers with 78 strikeouts. “I went back to my Shreveport stance. I used it there in the minor leagues and had 11 hits in a four-game series.

“It’s a widened stance. I got the idea while watching Von Hayes on TV. He’s got a very wide stance.”

So Sveum went wide, too, and Friday, he went deep . . . three times.

Another possible factor was suggested to Sveum. Uh, Dale, do you think the ball is juiced?

“I dunno,” Sveum said with a laugh. “It was tonight, I guess.”

Angel Notes

Ninety-six strikeouts and a .218 batting average have finally exhausted the Angels’ patience with Gary Pettis as their starting center fielder. Friday night, Manager Gene Mauch benched Pettis, claiming a need to give the struggling hitter some time off. “We’ve tried everything everybody has suggested,” Mauch said. “Sometimes, constant suggestion only reaffirms doubt in a player’s mind. Maybe sitting and watching will do him some good. Maybe he can come in and steal a game for us (as a pinch-runner), maybe he can win a game for us in the late innings with his defense. By sitting and watching it happen, maybe he’ll find that the game is not that difficult.” Said batting coach Moose Stubing: “The time off should definitely help him. Maybe this will help him relax mentally. We might have overloaded his circuits with all we were trying to do. It might be my fault. It’s been tough on him. Hell, it’s been tough on me. It’s frustrating for all of us.” When approached by a reporter, Pettis didn’t want to talk about it. “I have nothing to say,” Pettis said. After refusing to answer another question, Pettis asked, “What did Gene have to say?” The reporter repeated Mauch’s remarks. Pettis: “That’s good enough for me.” . . . Add Pettis: The boos he has heard recently at Anaheim Stadium have bothered Pettis, Stubing believes. “It’s got to hurt a guy who had the ability to make ‘em stand up and clap and cheer,” Stubing said. “Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to you (the media) right now. That’s were the pride element comes in. Respect his feelings now because he hurt. Not everybody can handle it the same way.” Added Mauch: “I do not get frustrated until I see frustration in a player’s eyes. When I see frustration in a man like Gary Pettis, we have to see if we can do something constructive about it. He’s not supposed to hit .220 and he knows it.” Mauch said he may limit Pettis’ starts to games when the opposing pitcher is “somebody he’s done well against.”

Off the bench: Dick Schofield’s separated shoulder has made a starter out of little-used utility man Gus Polidor. Polidor, who was 1 for 21 (.048) at the All-Star break, now figures as the Angels’ regular shortstop for as long as the next three weeks. He had a double in the fifth inning Friday night, making him 2 for 5 as Schofield’s replacement. “I know I can play in the big leagues,” Polidor said. “Look at the numbers I had the last two years (.285 and .300 at Edmonton). I know how to play baseball.” His .048 batting average, Polidor said, was the product of sparse playing time. Polidor appeared in his 24th game Friday. “It’s been tough,” he said. “I spent two, three weeks on the bench before the All-Star break. I had 20 at-bats in two months. That’s been my problem.