Downing Snaps Out of Slump With Homer; Angels Win, 5-3

Decisions, decisions. Batting practice was about to begin for Brian Downing Friday night, a crucial exercise for the Angels’ designated hitter these days. So Downing took his time before selecting the proper tool of his trade.

With a group of reporters looking on, Downing inspected several models, noticed the eyes that were upon him . . . and began to laugh.

“I know, I know,” he said. “It’s the one without any marks on it.”

Through the Angels’ first eight games of 1988, Downing had made scarcely a mark at all with his bat. One measly scratch single on opening day--and 0 for 17 after that. Overall, he was 1 for 19 (.053) entering Friday’s game with the Seattle Mariners.

Eight innings later, however, Downing finally got hit No. 2. And it came in a big way--a towering, tie-breaking home run off relief pitcher Bill Wilkinson to pace the Angels to a 5-3 victory over the Mariners before 10,976 at the Kingdome.

With two outs in the top of the eighth, Downing sent a 1-1 pitch deep into the left-field seats to break a 3-3 tie. The Angels added an unearned run later in the inning and were soon on their way to a fourth straight win and Mike Witt’s first in three 1988 starts.

Witt, pulled from each of his first two outings while leading, only to watch the Angel bullpen falter, stuck around to finish this one himself. He evened his record at 1-1 by limiting Seattle to six hits, striking out five and surrendering just one unearned run.

His winless streak ended the same night Downing’s hitless streak came to a close.

And that wasn’t totally by coincidence.

“You know as a player, you’re going to go through streaks. When whatever you hit, they’re going to catch it,” Downing said. “I just hated that mine was happening with men on base.

“It got to the point where I’d come up with men on base and I’d start to say to myself, ‘I’ll hit it hard and they’ll catch it.’ And they would.”

Such is the power of negative thinking. The only way to snap out of it, Downing thought, was a different kind of power, to place the ball where no fielder could get a glove on it.

“I went up there like it was batting practice with only one thing on my mind--hit it out,” Downing said. “I especially think that here. This has always been one of my favorite ballparks.”

And after Friday night, it remained that way.

The rest of the Angels, meanwhile, were undecided, especially new outfielders Johnny Ray and Chili Davis, who both received sloppy baptisms in the Kingdome.

Witt saw the best and the worst of Ray and Davis through the first seven innings, and fittingly enough, emerged from those innings tied at 3-3.

A dropped ball by Davis in the first inning paved the way for a quick unearned run--and probably at least two more were it not for a reckless stabbing catch by Ray in left-center field.

The Mariners already led, 1-0, and had Ken Phelps on second base with two outs when Glenn Wilson laced a line drive into the gap in right-center. Sprinting to his right, Davis got his glove on the ball but only for an instant. The ball popped free from the webbing and bounced on the artificial turf for an error, enabling Phelps to score easily.

Jim Presley doubled Wilson to third, and Dave Valle followed with a drive to the warning track in left-center. Left fielder Ray and center fielder Devon White both gave chase, both reached up for the ball . . . and they collided.

After the legs and arms were untangled, Ray, on his back, displayed the ball in his glove--an inning-ending catch that kept Witt within two runs of Seattle.

Davis and Ray also figured in the seventh inning, only reversing roles.

Davis fielded Valle’s blast on one bounce off the right-field fence, turned and fired a perfect throw to second base to snuff Valle’s bid for an extra-base hit. That was good for the second out of the inning.

But then Witt walked Rey Quinones and yielded a single to Harold Reynolds, placing runners on first and third. Mike Kingery followed by fouling off seven pitches, working the count to 2-2 and then hitting a fly ball to shallow left field.

Ray charged the ball and tried to backhand it--but failed to grab it. Another error and another unearned run. Seattle had erased a 3-2 Angel lead, and the score was tied at 3-3.

The Angels scored their first two runs on a two-run single off the right-field fence by Jack Howell in the second inning and received an assist on run No. 3, with third base umpire John Hirschbeck citing Seattle starter Mike Moore for a balk with Downing on third base in the fourth inning.

Mariner Manager Dick Williams was still stewing over that call when he walked to the mound to talk with Moore in the fifth. Moore had just walked Wally Joyner to load the bases. When plate umpire Nick Bremigan made it a threesome on the mound, Williams let forth a few choice words and was ejected for the first time this season.

For Williams, it was just as well because, for once, the eighth inning belonged to Downing. Downing is still batting below .100 for the season--.095, to be precise. But today, at least he’s feeling a little better about it.

Angel Notes

Rained out of his regularly scheduled start Thursday, Kirk McCaskill will try again Sunday afternoon in the series finale against Seattle. Angel Manager Cookie Rojas said he will start McCaskill in place of Dan Petry, who will pitch Monday night in Oakland. Willie Fraser remains the scheduled starter for tonight’s game. “We figured this was the best way to go,” Rojas said. “McCaskill warmed up twice (Thursday) and you don’t want to bring him back too fast. We figured he’d need one or two days’ rest. Doing it this way, the only guy we’re moving is Petry. And Petry is a veteran. He can adjust to it.” Another factor: The last time McCaskill faced the Mariners in the Kingdome, he shut them out on four hits, 4-0. That came on April 15 of last season--one start before McCaskill underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery.