A Memorial Day: Angels Victorious in Baltimore, 6-5 : California Beats Orioles for 2nd Time in 11 Games

Angel motor skills shifted into reverse Saturday, with Bob Boone becoming a base-running hero and Devon White standing still, which all seemed to make sense on a day when the Angels broke out of their most tedious routine--losing to the Baltimore Orioles.

For the first time this season, the Angels won a game at Memorial Stadium, beating Baltimore, 6-5, and ending a nine-game losing streak against the Orioles that began in May. The Angels are 1-4 at Memorial Stadium and 2-9 against Baltimore in 1987, so this sort of thing doesn’t happen often.

The Angels marked the occasion in their own special way.

Boone, the 38-year old catcher who was nicknamed Seattle Slow during his days in Philadelphia, scored the Angels’ fifth and sixth runs after legging out a double in the sixth inning and then beating out an infield single--the ultimate in rarities--in the eighth.

“I was flying,” quipped Boone, who drove in two runs with two doubles and a single. “Gene (Mauch, Angel manager) gave me four innings off yesterday, so my legs were rested. I decided to open it up a little bit.”

Boone’s second double, which brought home Tony Armas from second, was a line drive into the gap in right-center field, requiring Boone to gamble on the play and hustle to beat the throw to second.

Two innings later, Boone cued a dribbler off the end of his bat toward the left side of the mound and third baseman Ray Knight, and outran Knight’s throw to first base. Boone advanced to second on an infield out and scored the decisive run Ruppert Jones’ single to center field.

“My last infield single?” Boone asked, repeating a reporter’s question. “It came long before I can remember. I think I average about one every three years. It takes three years to get my legs ready for it.”

Boone’s speed is seldom a consideration in any Angel game, but it became significant when the fastest Angel, White, misjudged a fly ball about as badly as an outfielder can.

Some outfielders get a poor jump on a fly ball. Some turn the wrong way.

White didn’t even run after this one. In fact, he didn’t even walk.

When the Orioles’ Larry Sheets opened the sixth inning with a deep drive to right-center, White, assuming the ball was out of the park, simply stood at his center-field position and watched it.

Seconds later, he watched it bounce off the outfield fence--possibly a catchable ball if White had been there.

Instead, Sheets had a double. It started a three-run inning that enabled the Orioles to erase a 5-2 deficit.

“I’m sure this is the most embarrassing day of his life in baseball,” Mauch said of White. “You know he was pulling like hell for our pitchers to get out of that inning without a run.”

So was White embarrassed?

“I don’t want to talk about that one,” said White, who did anyway. “It was a weak effort on my part.

“It’s not like I didn’t see the ball. It looked like a home run, but then it took a U-turn.”

Could White have caught the ball if he had given proper chase?

“It’s tough to say,” White said.

Mauch, however, watched White haul down the game’s final out--a prodigious drive by Eddie Murray to the center-field wall--and drew this comparison:

“I’ll tell you this much--Eddie Murray hit his ball a lot harder than (Sheets). He (White) didn’t misread the wind the second time.”

Not until White retreated to the outer reaches of Memorial Stadium to catch Murray’s fly were the Angels assured of victory.

“I thought it was out,” said Angel reliever Willie Fraser (8-8), the winning pitcher. “I said, ‘Geez, not again.’

“I knew there was a strong wind blowing, and the ball was hit to the middle of the field, so I just kept watching Devo go back and back. When he caught it, it was a big relief.”

And no Angel was more relieved than Mauch, whose team lost 10 of 14 games before Saturday.

“That ball was kissed,” Mauch said. “The wind was nice.”

Mauch thought about what he said and wanted to revise his spelling.

“Take the ‘D’ off it,” he said. “The win was nice, too.”

Angel Notes

Mark McLemore left the park before the Angels announced the Johnny Ray trade, but Devon White described the move as disheartening news for his roommate and close friend. “If you look at it in the long run, he (McLemore) might be fighting for a job next year,” White said. “And if we go to the playoffs this year, he’s not eligible. All winter, that’s going to give him something to think about--and that’s not very good. I don’t know how I would handle it. What if we traded for somebody like Andre Dawson? What should I do? Should I request to be traded?” Pitchers Kirk McCaskill and Willie Fraser also empathized with McLemore. Said McCaskill: “I hate to see Mac get sent out. He’s worked hard, he’s an integral part of this team. I hope (the trade) helps us win the division. That’s the bottom line.” Added Fraser: “Mac has been doing the job all year, but it’s getting close to the pennant stretch. I think Gene (Mauch) likes to go with veterans this time of year.” . . . Former National Leaguers Greg Minton and Bob Boone were enthusiastic about the acquisition of Ray. “It’s a steal,” Minton said. “I know the Pirates are cleaning house, but they only had two or three hitters and Johnny Ray was one of them. He was the one you pitched around in their lineup. He’s gonna manufacture some runs for us, he’s got some pop in his bat. It’s a tremendous acquisition.” Said Boone: “I’m excited. Ray can really play. Ray for Bill Merrifield? You know the player to be named later has to be significant. My biggest thought at first was, ‘I hope it’s not me.’ But this may be the coup of the year, if (Ray) can get us over the hump without us giving up a player on our current roster, it could be a spectacular move by (General Manager) Mike Port.” Minton, too, also had to wonder about the Angels’ unspecified compensation. “I’d like to know who the player to be named later is. It might be (Wally) Joyner,” Minton joked.

McCaskill worked the first 5 innings for the Angels, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits before leaving with stiffness in his right elbow. This has been a recurring theme in McCaskill’s post-surgery starts, and he calls it “frustrating. It usually happens when I get up around 100 pitches. By the looks of things, I’m going to have to wait until next year before the arm feels like it did before. Last year, I could throw 140 pitches with no problems.” . . . The Angels stole three bases against the Orioles’ No. 2 catcher, Floyd Rayford. McLemore stole his 25th base, Joyner stole his ninth and Tony Armas stole his first of the season. For Armas, it was his first steal since June 12, 1984. . . . Fred Lynn, who beat the Angels with a ninth-inning pinch home run Friday night, reinjured his sore right quadriceps muscle and had to leave the game after the fourth inning. He was replaced by rookie Mike Hart. . . . Saturday marked only the fifth homerless game at Memorial Stadium this season. Already, a record-setting total of 191 home runs have been hit at Memorial Stadium in 1987, an average of 3.1 a game.