Orioles Hit Angels With Loss That Hurts : Boddicker Holds Them to Only 4 Hits as McCaskill, Joyner Bruised

After the Angels beat Baltimore Saturday night, Manager Cookie Rojas looked up toward the heavens and said, “Maybe we’ll start getting some breaks now.”

What he got instead Sunday was bruises. Bruised forearms, bruised shoulders, bruised egos . . . and a loss as the Orioles won, 3-2, before 24,860 at Anaheim Stadium.

Rojas, of course, wasn’t referring to his players’ bones Saturday night, but when Baltimore catcher Terry Kennedy hit a rocketing line drive off the right forearm of Angel starter Kirk McCaskill in the fourth inning, it appeared as if he was going to get the kind of break that requires a cast.

The X-rays of McCaskill’s arm were negative, but that came as a surprise to McCaskill, Rojas, Dr. Lewis Yocum and anybody in the stands who saw it happen.

McCaskill: “I honestly thought it was broken in half. I didn’t even want to look down at it.”

Rojas: “It sounded like it was broken in 10 pieces. It sounded like someone hit a wall with a piece of wood.”

Yocum: “Anytime you get a clean shot like that, and the ball comes straight back toward home, it means that all the energy was transmitted to one spot on the bone. Let’s just say I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw the X-rays.”

Then, in the sixth inning, Wally Joyner broke to steal second and Kennedy’s throw struck him in the left shoulder blade.

Joyner was sent to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange for X-rays.

“I don’t think anything’s broken, but I just wanted to make sure,” Yocum said. “It was already swollen and very tender. A bone bruise in that area can be just as painful as a break.”

Replacing Joyner at first base was rookie Jim Eppard, just up from triple-A Edmonton. Much to his chagrin, Eppard muffed his first chance, a relatively routine bouncer to first in the eighth inning and opened the door for two unearned Oriole runs that proved to be the difference.

With one out, Joe Orsulak reached first when Eppard misjudged the grounder and the ball caromed off his arm.

“I saw I was going to be in between hops,” Eppard said, “and I went, ‘Aw, geez.’ I tried to stay down, but the ball came up and hit me in the hand and glanced away.”

Greg Minton then got Fred Lynn to fly out before walking Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray to load the bases. Rojas brought in DeWayne Buice, who gave up a two-run single to Larry Sheets.

“Wally told the trainers he couldn’t throw or swing a bat, so I decided to go with Eppard,” Rojas said. “Unfortunately, he made the error. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

For the Angels these days, that’s the way it goes almost all of the time.

Sunday, they were up against a pitcher--Mike Boddicker--who came into the game with a 1-8 record and just one win in his last 14 decisions. The Angels managed just four hits, however, and Boddicker picked up his second straight victory.

Two of the Angel hits were solo homers by Jack Howell and Brian Downing, marking the first time in more than a month that the Angels had more than one homer in a game at home. McCaskill, however, was not around to witness the rare event. Howell’s shot to left-center came in the fifth and Downing hit his homer to left in the ninth.

McCaskill, who gave up 11 first-inning runs in 13 starts last season, yielded back-to-back doubles to Fred Lynn and Cal Ripken in the first and the Orioles led, 1-0. But he struck out four and allowed just one more hit until Kennedy led off in the fifth.

The Oriole catcher sent McCaskill’s first pitch straight back up the middle and belt high. It caught McCaskill flush on the forearm and he doubled over in pain. Somehow, he still went after the ball as it dribbled back toward home plate, reached over and tried to slap it toward first with the back of his glove. McCaskill, a former pro hockey player, fanned on this slap shot, however. He then spun around and started walking toward center field where trainer Rick Smith finally caught up to him and led him off the field.

“I didn’t pick up the ball because I thought if I tried to throw to first my arm would fall off,” McCaskill said. “Until I got the X-rays, I was pretty upset. Now, I can get some positive things out of this game. I’m going to ice it and Dr. Yocum will look at it again tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll even miss a start.”

Yocum said it was “conceivable” that McCaskill would be ready to take his next turn in the rotation.

The Angels, of course, cannot afford to lose any more players. Friday, they had to move Donnie Moore to the 21-day disabled list to make room for Mark McLemore and Butch Wynegar on the 15-day list. Their roster is already looking very similar to the one Edmonton started the season with.

And, of course, they cannot afford to lose many more games. Sunday’s defeat dropped them 15 1/2 games behind the American League West-leading Oakland Athletics.

Angel Notes

Left-hander Sherman Corbett, making his first appearance since being called up from double-A Midland, worked three hitless innings Sunday. Corbett, who came in after starter Kirk McCaskill was hit in the right forearm by a line drive, walked two and struck out one. “He did an excellent job,” Manager Cookie Rojas said. “He threw strikes and kept the ball down. We couldn’t have asked for a better performance.” . . . Reliever Donnie Moore will begin a rehabilitation assignment with the Angels’ class-A affiliate in Palm Springs today. Rojas said Moore will probably pitch two, one- or two-inning stints, the first of which will likely be today against Riverside in a game at Palm Springs. . . . Brian Downing, who hit a towering home run to left in the ninth inning Sunday, has hit safely in 14 of the last 16 games and is hitting .341 since returning from the disabled list on May 6. . . . Catcher Bob Boone appeared in his 2,009th game Sunday, passing former teammate Bobby Grich and moving into a tie with Heinie Manush at No. 133 on the all-time list. . . . Baltimore third baseman Rene Gonzales wears No. 88. Broadcaster Joe Torre wanted to know if next year Gonzales was going to change to 89.

ANGEL ATTENDANCE

Sunday . . . 24,860

1988 (23 dates) . . . 682,167

1987 (23 dates) . . . 779,252

Decrease . . . 97,085

Average . . . 29,659