In Twins’ Din, the Angels Fall Further Back : California Is 4 1/2 Games Behind After 7-2 Defeat

The good people of Minnesota haven’t had a baseball team in the playoffs since 1970, back when The Fat Kid meant Harmon Killebrew and not Kirby Puckett, and now they find their Twins leading the American League West by 4 1/2 games.

So, they’re ready.

Tuesday night, 47,081 strong--and loud--turned out at the Metrodome to watch the Twins beat the second-place Angels, 7-2, for their fifth straight victory. Frank Viola, Mark Davidson and Tom Brunansky did the biggest damage to the Angels, but the crowd contributed, too, turning the dome into a din and seemingly keeping the roof inflated with their noise alone.

They gave a standing ovation to Viola (13-7), who held the Angels to two runs through eight-plus innings.

They went wild for Davidson, the light-hitting outfielder who entered the game with one hit in his last 20 at-bats but doubled in two runs off loser John Candelaria (6-4) and singled to set up another against reliever Willie Fraser.

And they displayed playoff form in their appreciation for Brunansky, who drove in two runs with a double and a single, and Gary Gaetti, who had a home run, a single and ended the game with a diving catch at third base.

The Angels staggered off the field, holding their ears as well as their fourth loss in their last five games.

“The fans are really loud, and in these close confines, there’s a lot of energy out there,” said Angel reliever Greg Minton, who pitched the eighth inning. “Right now, the Twins are feeding off of it.”

Minnesota has the American League’s best home record--38-16--and is 25-5 at the Metrodome since May 24. As one Minnesota writer put it, “The Twins have a dynasty in this place.”

Angel Manager Gene Mauch has noticed.

“They’re playing hard, they’re playing like they think nothing can go wrong for them in this ballpark,” Mauch said. “They have an expectancy to win here. The expectancy, the backing, all those things are running together for them.

“So, we have to see if we can do something about that.”

Plan A went down the tubes when Candelaria gave up four runs in five innings. The Angels are 6-5 against Minnesota this season, and Candelaria has accounted for half those wins. Before Tuesday, Candelaria was 3-0 with an 0.44 earned-run average against the Twins in 1987--including last Wednesday’s 6-1 victory in Anaheim.

Mauch figured this might be a good way to start his team’s final series against Minnesota.

Candelaria gave up six hits and no walks, but four of those hits came in the second inning. The Twins used them to score three runs.

In the process, the Twins also used the home field to their advantage.

With Gaetti on first base, Gene Larkin bounced a chopper on the artificial turf and sailed over first baseman Wally Joyner’s head for a single. Brunansky followed with a double down the left-field line, scoring Gaetti.

Both Larkin and Brunansky came home two outs later when Davidson, who had hit safely just once since July 9, delivered a ground-ball double down the left-field line.

In the fourth inning, Minnesota scored its fourth run on a single by Tim Laudner and a triple by Greg Gagne. Gagne’s ball struck a pole near the Angel bullpen and caromed back toward the infield. By the time second baseman Mark McLemore could track down the ball, Laudner was headed home.

McLemore, standing near the foul line behind first base, made a strong throw homeward that beat Laudner to the plate, but catcher Bob Boone failed to hold the ball.

The Twins took a 4-0 lead, and Candelaria was out of the game.

“He was good,” Mauch said of his starting pitcher. “He pitched about as well as last time. The only difference was the Astroturf bounce.

“They bounce one over the first baseman’s head and it sets up a three-run inning. Davidson’s ball, on grass, Doug (DeCinces) catches that ball easily.

“But we’re on Astroturf. So let’s play.”

The Angels scored their only two runs in the top of the sixth, when Joyner and Devon White singled, followed by a bloop double by George Hendrick. They failed to score more when DeCinces, batting .198 with runners in scoring position, popped to short and Bill Buckner struck out.

The Angels gave those runs back in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings. Fraser replaced Candelaria in the sixth, and Gaetti hit his first pitch over the center-field fence for his 24th home run. In the seventh, Fraser allowed another run on a pair of singles by Davidson and Al Newman.

“It’s kind of tough when the first pitch you throw, they hit over the center field fence,” said Fraser, who was making his first relief appearance since April. “I guess I’m just not doing the right things out there.”

He is not alone. Since leaving Anaheim for plastic grass and baseball under domes, the Angels are 1-4 and have slipped from a half-game behind the Twins to 4 1/2.

They have two more games left with Minnesota.

Are the Angels facing a must-win--in mid-August?

“If we could win these next two, it would take away a lot of must-win games later on,” Minton said. “If we don’t, we’ll have dug ourselves into a pretty good hole.”

Angel Notes Shortstop Dick Schofield, who spent 30 days on the disabled list, was re-activated Tuesday by the Angels, who made room on the roster by sending Mark Ryal to Edmonton. Ryal batted .213 with 4 home runs and 12 RBIs in 44 games and had five hits in his last 37 at-bats. But as a pinch-hitter, Ryal batted .363 (8 for 22), one of the best marks in the league. “I was surprised,” Ryal said of the move. “What the hell. As far as I know, my job was to pinch-hit and I felt like I did my job.” Ryal, who did not have a plate appearance in the Angels’ last 13 games, was asked if he felt he received a fair chance. “It’s hard to say,” he said. “My job is to pinch-hit and I did that. I wish I could’ve hit better in the games I started, but as far as doing what I was supposed to do, I thought I did a pretty good job. When (Bill) Buckner came here, he more or less took away the pinch-hitting role I had. I can’t blame him for that; he didn’t make the decision. And he can help here. Heck, he’s got some hits already and won some games for them.” . . . Add Ryal: Because he was out of options, Ryal had to be outrighted to Edmonton, which means that if the Angels don’t recall him before the end of the season, he becomes a free agent. “Mike (Port) told me I’d be back, but I’m not banking on it,” Ryal said. “He’d said they’d call me up in September (when rosters can be expanded) but you never know about things like that. They could make another trade and get other people before then.”

Speaking of trades: The Angels are still reportedly talking with the Boston Red Sox about acquiring designated hitter Don Baylor. Baylor has asked to be traded, and Boston General Manager Lou Gorman confirmed that he has been in contact with two AL West teams the last two days. Oakland is believed to be the other. Baylor, hitting .233 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs, would make designated hitter a mighty crowded position in Anaheim, with Brian Downing and Buckner already splitting time there.