Even the Angels Can’t Blow a 12-Run Lead, Defeat White Sox, 15-6

One thing about that Angel pitching staff: Give it a 12-run lead and you can pretty much put that victory in the bank.

Tuesday night, the Angel offense unloaded on Chicago White Sox pitchers Jack McDowell and Jose Segura, scoring 12 runs before the game was four innings old, and then turned it over to Dan Petry and the bullpen, who managed to stave off the White Sox long enough to complete a 15-6 win in front of 23,149 at Anaheim Stadium.

That’s two victories in a row. Cookie Rojas has a winning streak going, his first as a big league manager. And this win--featuring 14 hits and 3 home runs, including a grand slam by Devon White--was the Angels’ largest offensive outburst since Sept 18. 1986, when the Angels scored 18 runs against Kansas City.

Maybe the Angel hitters learned something from Mark McGwire Weekend after all.

After watching McGwire hit three home runs in three games, the Angels got into the act Tuesday. In a five-run third inning, White hit his second career grand slam, sending a 2-and-0 pitch by McDowell into the second deck in right field. In a five-run fourth inning Chili Davis delivered his first Angel home run, a two-run shot to left. And in an academic eighth inning, Jack Howell also homered to left, bringing the club’s final run total to 15.

McDowell (0-1), the touted rookie who limited the Angels to one run in seven innings in his first 1988 start last week, could last only 2 innings the second time around. He surrendered two runs in the first inning, five more in the third and left the mound trailing, 7-0.

Segura left it in worse shape. After turning in a 1-inning stint, Segura had yielded five more runs and the Angels led, 12-0.

This lead was handed to Petry, who worked six scoreless innings in his first start and came up empty. Consider Petry and the Angel offense even. Petry surrendered a solo home run to Greg Walker in the fifth inning and three more runs in the sixth before Rojas replaced him with relief pitcher Frank DiMichele.

Petry (1-0) pitched just enough--5 innings--for the victory. He allowed four runs on six hits, including a two-run double by Harold Baines and a run-scoring double by Carlton Fisk. He also walked two, struck out one and balked once.

Afterward, Petry was asked for an assessment of his first win in an Angel uniform.

“The boys had their hitting shoes on tonight,” Petry said.

But what about Petry’s own performance?

“Let’s keep talking about the hitting,” Petry responded with a smile.

Well, OK.

There were two more singles by leadoff man Mark McLemore, triggering a 2-run first inning and a 5-run third inning.

There were three hits--a single, a double and a home run--by Davis in five at-bats, raising his batting average to .355.

There were four hits--three singles and a home run--by Howell, his second 4-hit game as a major leaguer.

And there was White, entering the game with just a .150 batting average and raising that mark 50 points with a grand slam and a run-scoring single.

Including their 8-6 loss to Oakland Saturday and their 6-4 victory over the Athletics Sunday, the Angels have scored 27 runs in their last three games.

“The hitters get all the credit tonight,” Petry said. “I was just out there benefiting from their production.”

Inheriting a 13-4 lead from Petry, DiMichele lasted 2 innings, yielding two runs of his own in the eighth inning. In that inning, Baines walked, Ivan Calderon singled and both came around to score--Baines on a single by Walker and Calderon on a balk.

After DiMichele walked another batter, Rojas interceded again and brought on reliever No. 2, Stewart Cliburn. Cliburn debuted by hitting Steve Lyons with a pitch but then settled down to retire the final four White Sox hitters.

By game’s end, DiMichele had lowered his earned-run average from 13.50 to 10.80 and Cliburn had sliced his from 27.00 to 11.57.

“I’ve said I trust our bullpen,” Rojas said, “and I’m going to give them the work.”

Of course, giving that bullpen 15 runs to work with always makes that decision easier.

Evenings such as these don’t figure to come around often, but Davis, for one, believes the Angel offense is capable of carrying a sizable load.

“I think we have a really good lineup,” Davis said. “And think about it for a minute. Wally (Joyner) is not hitting yet, (Brian) Downing’s not hitting yet and Johnny Ray has yet to get hot.”

So, come on and join in, Petry says.

“It’s great to pitch with all those runs,” he said.

With 15, any pitcher can look great.

Angel Notes

How To Shave An Angel: Wally Joyner can currently be seen in a television commercial plugging disposable razors, a spot Joyner taped in New York last December. Joyner made the cross-country flight accompanied by his agent, Michael Watkins. Why? “I had to stand in for the beard,” quipped Watkins. When that crack got back to Joyner, the baby-faced first baseman feigned indignation and pinched the skin just below his chin. “He said that, did he?” Joyner said. “Well, that was me--all me.” Joyner said he needed four takes to get it right, including four razor strokes against, yes, his own chin. “It was fun,” Joyner said. “It’s a cute commercial.” But it isn’t perfect, not in Joyner’s mind. “It’s too short,” he said, grinning. “I only have one line.” . . . Greg Minton completed another 10-minute round of lightly throwing off the mound before Tuesday’s game, his second every-other-day session. “He had no pain at all,” said Angel physical therapist Roger Williams. “Of course, it’s going to be fine until we get to that point where we were in Palm Springs--where he’s going full out and throwing his curve ball. That’s where we had trouble last time.” Williams said Minton won’t begin throwing curve balls until “he can throw his fast ball without pain and come back painfree the day after. He’s not going to be back in 10 days. It’s going to take some time. He’s going to have to build himself up.” . . . When Greg Walker homered off Dan Petry in the fifth inning Tuesday, it marked Walker’s sixth career home run against the Angel pitcher. Overall, Walker is 10 for 26 (.385) against Petry.

Fashion Statement: Dick Schofield doesn’t say much, so he has to find other ways of attracting attention. Schofield’s idea is to wear his red stirrup stockings Babe Ruth style--with the pant legs pulled up almost to the knee and the stirrups pushed down around the ankles. A tribute to Honus Wagner, maybe? “My pants just shrunk,” Schofield said with a grin. “I used to wear ‘em like this in A ball. I just thought I’d do something different. People will get used to it.” Not Minton, though. “For the good of the team, I don’t think he’ll be able to do it much longer,” Minton said. “It’s hard to pitch when you’re laughing at your shortstop.” Not even Schofield’s father, former big-league infielder Ducky Schofield, dared to wear such a shocking stocking. Said Minton: “I asked him if that’s the way his dad wore them and Dick said, ‘If my dad knew about this, he’d shoot me.’ ” . . . Joe Johnson won his first start for the Edmonton Trappers Monday, allowing 6 hits and no earned runs in 5 innings en route to a 6-5 victory over Phoenix. Bryan Harvey earned the save, striking out two batters in one inning.