Angels Are Run Down by Walks and Balks

The Angels, that crazy gang of innovators who seem to find a new way to lose almost every night, expanded the horizons of self-destruction again Thursday night during an 8-5 loss to Detroit.

A crowd of 23,821 at Anaheim Stadium saw Angel pitchers effectively use the balk, walk and hit batsman to provide the Tigers with ample scoring opportunities. And in the bottom half of the innings, the crowd saw a classic display of non-hitting and even non- running in the clutch by Angel batters.

The Tigers scored four runs in the second inning--with the help of two balks and a walk by starter Chuck Finley--and two more in the fourth, with a special thanks to reliever Stewart Cliburn for a pair of walks and a hit batter.

The Angels stranded six runners, four of whom were in scoring position. They had the tying run on second base in the eighth inning with two out when George Hendrick came up to pinch-hit for Butch Wynegar.

Hendrick hit a ground ball to shortstop, but Tiger shortstop Alan Trammell dropped the ball and then overran it. Hendrick was barely jogging to first, however, and Trammell had time to reach behind him, pick up the ball and throw Hendrick out.

The Angels, who had a 3-game win streak going on April 15, have won just 6 of 19 since, and the way they played Thursday night, it’s easy to see why. The season is just a few days more than a month old, and the Angels already trail the American League West-leading A’s by 10 games.

“Last night, we get good pitching and don’t score,” said Manager Cookie Rojas, who watched his team go down to a 1-0 defeat Wednesday. “Tonight, we scored some runs but didn’t get the good pitching.

“There’s no question that it’s frustrating to be this far out so soon, but we just haven’t been able to put everything together consistently.”

On this night, the only thing the Angels did consistently was aid the Tigers’ effort to stay close to the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians in the AL East.

Walt Terrell, making only his second start of the season because of an ankle injury he suffered in January when he slipped on ice while house-sitting for former teammate Dan Petry, yielded 5 runs in 4 innings. But Guillermo Hernandez and Mike Henneman held the Angels to just two hits and no runs after that.

“These wins are helping us stay in it,” Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson said. “Our hitting is getting better, our relief pitching was excellent and we were able to take advantage of the walks and balks.”

Finley, who pitched the first complete game of his career in his last start, didn’t get out of the second inning Thursday night.

He retired the side in order in the first inning but became completely unglued in the second. Trammell singled to left to open the inning, and then Finley was called for a balk.

There’s nothing unusual about that these days, but it seemed to unnerve Finley. Larry Herndon and Chet Lemon followed with almost-identical shots to center that skipped just under the glove of shortstop Dick Schofield, and the Tigers led, 1-0.

Plate umpire Drew Coble then caught Finley in another balk--moving Herndon and Lemon to second and third--and Ray Knight promptly looped an RBI single to right. One out later, catcher Mike Heath beat out a high bouncer to third to give Detroit a 3-0 lead. Gary Pettis singled off Finley’s bare hand to load the bases, and the left-hander added insult to his own injury by walking Lou Whitaker to force in the Tigers’ fourth run.

“The balks upset him mentally, but that was just one of the factors,” Rojas said. “He just wasn’t on tonight. He just wasn’t sharp.”

He also wasn’t long for the game. The walk forced Rojas to take a walk, too--out to the mound, that is--and summon help.

Cliburn provided a measure of momentary relief, getting Luis Salazar to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

The Angels scored a run in the third on singles by Wynegar and Schofield and a double-play ground ball by Mark McLemore, but the Tigers came right back with two more in the fourth.

Cliburn walked Brookens and Heath to open the inning, got a pair of outs and then hit Salazar in the head with a curveball. Then Trammell came through with his third hit of the evening, and Detroit went ahead, 6-1.

The Angels got one back in the fourth when Joyner opened the inning with a double to right, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Howell’s two-out single to center.

An inning later, it was a one-run game, after singles by Schofield and Bill Buckner, an RBI fielder’s choice by Joyner, an RBI triple by Chili Davis and a bloop RBI single by Johnny Ray chased Terrell.

Detroit got a run in the sixth, due to former Angel Pettis, who did what the Angels had hoped to see him do a lot more often in his seven seasons with them. He singled to center, stole second, took third on a fly ball to center and scored on a short sacrifice fly to left by Pat Sheridan. The run was the first that reliever Bryan Harvey had allowed in his major league career, which had spanned 14 innings until then.

All of which added up to just another digit in the loss column for the Angels and maybe a few more gray hairs for Rojas.

“We just can’t put it together,” he said. “I thought we hustled . . . though.”

Maybe he wasn’t looking when Hendrick hit that roller to short and took that stroll to first.

Angel Notes

Reliever Greg Minton, recovering from a sore elbow, threw a two-inning simulated game Thursday afternoon, and Manager Cookie Rojas liked what he saw. “He threw a no-hitter and didn’t walk anybody,” Rojas said. “He threw very well.” The next step is a stint with the Palm Springs Angels, the club’s single-A affiliate. Rojas said he hadn’t talked with pitching coach Marcel Lachmann to discuss exactly when Minton would begin his minor league rehabilitation but said he thinks Minton is “about a week to 10 days away from rejoining the team.”

Brian Downing, who has been on the disabled list with a rib injury, could be back as soon as tonight. Downing hit the ball with authority in batting practice Thursday and said he is feeling much better. “He hit the hell out of the ball,” Rojas said, smiling. “He’s close, maybe a day or two. Nobody wants him back in the lineup more than me, but one more day is nothing compared to what might happen if he goes out and pulls it again.”