White Turns On Power Again in 5-4 Angel Win : He Hits First Homer in Nearly a Month; A’s McGwire Ties Record With 37th

Weary, eh? Tired? Pooped? Devon White had heard them all, every cockeyed theory of why he had not hit a home run in nearly a month.

Too many games. Too hot. Too cold. Too this. Too that. Seventeen homers had come too quickly. And then, without notice, the long hits stopped.

“When you don’t hit, the question is brought up, ‘Are you being drained?’ That’s the term they use,” White said.

White answered the question here Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics with a three-run home run, his first homer since July 2, as well as a single and two runs scored.

And as they often do, the Angels hung on for the ride and let White help provide a 5-4 victory before an Oakland Coliseum crowd of 22,616, who also saw the A’s Mark McGwire hit his 37th home run of the seson, tying an American League record for rookies set by Al Rosen in 1950.

White wouldn’t mind seeing the A’s more often. Nice bunch of guys, this Oakland pitching staff. Accommodating, too.

In 9 games against the A’s, White has 15 hits, 10 runs batted in and 2 homers in just 39 at-bats, for a .385 average. Tuesday night, White knocked in three runs with a single and a bloop double. Wednesday, he hit a homer over the right-field fence to earn his seventh game-winning RBI.

“He finds ways to score runs--and knock them in,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said.

White, a rookie, isn’t picky. His three-run blast in the fourth was conventional enough, but the run he scored in the eighth, the one that really mattered, was produced by speed. White has it, most of the other Angels don’t.

White singled to begin the inning and moved to third on another single to right field by Brian Downing. Then Jack Howell grounded sharply to first baseman McGwire, who, apparently flustered by White’s speed, threw wildly to catcher Terry Steinbach. White waited calmly until Steinbach dropped the poor throw, and then tapped home plate.

“He scored one trotting and one walking,” said Mauch of White’s afternoon.

In all, White has 18 homers and 64 RBIs, considerably fewer in either department than McGwire, the likely choice for rookie of the year, who in addition to his 37 homers also has 83 RBIs.

Fine, said White. Congratulations. White said he would rather win the American League West title, but . . .

“Everything is pretty close (among the rookies),” he said. “It’s going to be a treat going down to the wire. Some guys are going to choke, so we’ll see what happens.”

Other rookies, such as 29-year-old DeWayne Buice, continue to thrive as the race for the division title tightens. Buice, discovered in the minors after stays in Edmonton, Midland, Nuevo Laredo, Tacoma and other exotic ports of call, was at it again Wednesday. He rescued the Angels, to say nothing of Greg Minton, in the eighth inning, then struck out Mike Davis and Reggie Jackson, and got Steinbach to ground out to end the game. It was Buice’s 11th save.

Mauch’s pregame plan called for starter Don Sutton to throw his customary 100 pitches--or about five innings--and then bring in Minton and Buice for two innings apiece.

Sure enough, Sutton left with a 4-2 lead after five innings. His only mistakes were home run pitches to Steinbach in the third and McGwire in the fourth.

“As soon as Sutton threw that pitch (to McGwire), he wanted to run up and intercept it,” Mauch said.

Minton, a local favorite from his days with the San Francisco Giants, followed and celebrated his 36th birthday by retiring six of the first seven A’s he faced.

“(Minton) was throwing so good, it was scary,” Mauch said. “Suddenly, his pitches started bouncing around somewhere and he couldn’t find that plate.”

Said Minton: “I was trying to strike out everybody.”

Things unraveled in the eighth, when Minton walked the first two A’s he faced before Alfredo Griffin grounded out. Jose Canseco was next and promptly lined a single to center. The Angel lead was cut to 5-4.

Enter Buice and an appointment with--who else?--McGwire.

“I faced him once before, in spring training,” Buice said. “He hit it off the wall. If (the fence) had been a little lower, it would have gone over. Instead, it went through it.”

This time, McGwire grounded sharply to third baseman Howell. Carney Lansford flied out to left field to end the rally.

The save was satisfying because it indicated that Buice, who once belonged to the A’s organization and was also a former Giant, belongs in the major leagues.

“I just wanted to prove to them, just as I wanted to prove to myself, that I could do it,” he said.

In the process, Buice gave Sutton his seventh victory and the rest of the team a pleasant end to the 15-day, 13-game trip.

The Angels finished their cross-country tour with a 6-7 record but actually gained ground on the AL West-leading Minnesota Twins. The Angels arrived back in Anaheim only 2 1/2 games out of first place and only a half-game out of second.

“That’s a nice way to end a trip that I’ve been fretting about since last winter,” Mauch said.

Angel Notes

Not everyone, most notably Brian Downing, was overjoyed with the recent developments following the acquisition of Bill Buckner Tuesday. Although pleased that the Angels had signed Buckner, a proven hitter, Downing said he had mixed emotions about a move from designated hitter to duty in left field. Downing, used exclusively this season as a DH, entered Wednesday’s game with a .272 average, 19 homers and 54 runs batted in. Now he has been told to ready himself for play in left. “I’m not looking forward to it,” Downing said. “I said at the beginning of the year that if I never played another game out there, I’d be happy.” Downing also said he doesn’t expect to play as often with the addition of Buckner. He may be right. Buckner is expected to play against all right-handed pitchers and probably against some left-handers. Meanwhile, Downing, who will see his DH assignment cut in half once Wally Joyner returns to first base, where Buckner is serving as a temporary replacement, isn’t likely to play every day in left. “It will probably be a little revolving thing,” he said.

General Manager Mike Port said he is scheduled to fly to Las Vegas and watch Tony Armas of the Angels’ Triple-A Edmonton club today. Cookie Rojas, one of the Angels’ scouting coordinators, also will be there to observe Armas’ progress. Armas was signed about a month ago to a minor league contract. . . . Mike Witt earned his 13th victory Tuesday night but only after giving up an impressive home run to former Angel Reggie Jackson. Jackson’s homer, his 14th of the season and 562nd of his career, easily cleared the 400-foot mark in center field. Reminded of the hit Wednesday, Jackson said, “I was just lucky.” Said Witt: “I have no qualms about giving up a home run to him. Lucky?