Ray’s 6 RBIs Provide Bullpen Enough Relief to Preserve Angel Win

On a night when Johnny Ray had four hits and six runs batted in, guess who was the center of attention in the Angels’ 11-6 victory over Seattle?

Why DeWayne Buice and Donnie Moore, of course.

Buice and Moore managed to hold off the Mariners for 2 innings Thursday night, a feat more remarkable than your run-of-the-mill six-RBI game, at least when you consider the state of the Angels’ bullpen these days.

Ray, who has 11 RBIs in his last three games and has boosted his batting average more than 150 points, from .208 to .362, in the last six games, provided plenty of punch against the Mariners. And the Angels needed every one of the runs he drove in.

Most of the 22,172 fans who braved a chilly night at Anaheim Stadium weren’t sure 11 runs were enough . . . or else they just wanted to stick around and boo Moore when he came on to pitch in the ninth inning. He did little to gain their favor, allowing an unearned run and three hits.

But it was good enough to preserve a win for starter Willie Fraser (2-0), who lasted 6 innings and allowed 8 hits and 5 runs, only 2 of which were earned.

“Buice did the job and Moore did the job tonight,” Manager Cookie Rojas said. “I brought Moore in because I wanted him to close this game . . . whether it was a one-run or two-run game.”

By the time Moore got there, this one was a six-run game, because of Ray and Co. It was Moore, of course, who had given up the three-run homer to Ron Hassey Wednesday in Oakland as the A’s rallied for a 9-8 victory. And it was Moore who brought his 13.50 earned-run average to the mound amid a chorus of hoots in the ninth inning Thursday night.

But the Angels’ bats were booming--Bob Boone had his first four-hit night since 1984, along with two RBIs--and the Angels ended up with 15 hits and enough runs . . . this time.

“Our pitching was atrocious,” Seattle Manager Dick Williams said. “Our execution wasn’t much better. We played good in the spring, but now we’re playing like a bunch of little old people.”

The Mariners (6-10) made a couple of errors and a host of bad decisions in the field, but all 11 Angel runs were earned.

Ray was No. 1 on the hit parade with two singles and two doubles. The six RBIs were a career high for Ray, who had five on May 15, 1982, against Cincinnati, when he was with the Pirates.

“If we can score some runs, it takes the pressure off the bullpen,” he said, smiling.

Ray, never known for his blazing speed, was thrown out by left fielder Mickey Brantley when he tried to stretch a first-inning single into a double. But he hit a line drive that looked like an instant replay to bring home the Angels’ first two runs in the third. And this time he made it into second base safely on the hit.

Boone opened the inning with a single to right, and Dick Schofield followed with a double that slid just inside the first-base bag and down into the right-field corner. One out later, Ray came through.

The Angels increased their lead to 3-0 in the fourth. Bill Buckner opened the inning with a single to left. Jack Howell then hit a line drive into the right-field corner and was awarded second base after a collision with Mariner first baseman Ken Phelps. Howell landed in a heap halfway between first and second and didn’t get up until trainer Ned Bergert had given him the once- and even twice-over.

Buckner was out at the plate, trying to score on Devon White’s grounder to third, but Boone drove home Howell when he slapped another single into right. That was it for Mariner starter Bill Swift. Williams brought in Ed Nunez, who got Schofield on a fly to right field and struck out Mark McLemore.

The Mariners tied it, 3-3, but the Angels got one more in the fifth, and then went ahead, 7-3, in the sixth, on a walk, two steals, a bunt, a bleeder and, of course, Ray. White worked the one-out walk, then easily stole second and third. Boone, trying to squeeze home White, popped up his bunt attempt, but third baseman Jim Presley was unable to make a diving catch. White scored, and Boone was safe at first. Schofield beat out a slow roller to third, and Williams brought in right-hander Mike Jackson. Jackson walked McLemore to load the bases, and then Ray lined a two-run single to right.

Presley led off the Seattle seventh with a line-drive homer to left, and Rey Quinones followed with a single to center. Fraser got Harold Reynolds on a grounder to first, but Rojas--probably with some trepidation--decided to go to the bullpen.

Buice, owner of one of the best ERAs--a less-than-awesome 6.35--in the Angels’ bullpen, came on to get Brantley on a pop-up before yielding an RBI single to Scott Bradley.

The Angels provided Moore with a comfortable cushion by scoring four more runs in the eighth. McLemore had a run-scoring single, and Ray drove in two with a double to right-center. Ray scored on Chili Davis’ sacrifice fly.

“A big lead can take the pressure off the bullpen,” Rojas admitted, “but Buice and Moore are my stoppers.”

So far, they haven’t been able to stop much. But Thursday night was, well, a start.

Angel Notes

Half of the Angels’ eight losses going into Thursday night were decided in the eighth or ninth inning, and the bullpen had held opponents scoreless just twice in 13 appearances. After Thursday night’s game, the Angels announced that they were recalling right-hander Bryan Harvey from their triple-A affiliate in Edmonton and optioning left-hander Frank DiMichele to Edmonton. Harvey, 24, had a 3.18 earned-run average in five games with Edmonton. He allowed 6 hits, walked 4, struck out 5 and picked up 2 saves in 5 innings of work. DiMichele, who appeared in four games this season, had a 9.64 ERA. “It’s nothing against DiMichele,” Manager Cookie Rojas said. “We just thought Harvey could strengthen the bullpen.” . . . Greg Minton probably won’t be the answer to the Angels’ bullpen woes, at least not for a while. “I haven’t thrown a curveball yet, but I’m getting a little more velocity on the fastball each time,” said Minton, who is throwing on the sidelines every other day trying to rehabilitate a sore elbow. . . . Second baseman Mark McLemore, who was scratched from the starting lineup Wednesday because of the flu, was back in the leadoff spot Thursday night. “I’m still a little weak and a little dizzy,” McLemore said, “but I feel a lot better than I did in Oakland.”