Angels Keep Rolling, Sweep Kansas City

When the inning is late and the lead is yours, removing Mike Witt can be treacherous work for a manager. Gene Mauch learned this early and talked about it often. Game 5 of the 1986 American League playoffs etched it in stone, for the benefit of all future Angel managers.

So, Cookie Rojas was ready. He knew he was taking a risk by interrupting Witt’s bid for a second straight shutout Sunday with two outs in the ninth--and he knew Witt wouldn’t go without a fight--so Rojas signaled for a new pitcher as soon as he stepped outside the Angel dugout.

There would be no ifs, ands or buts. There would be no debate. Witt was out, Bryan Harvey was in. Simple as that.

Well, it’s never really all that simple.

Harvey got the out he needed and Witt’s 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals was preserved. The Angels had completed their first sweep of a three-game series since last July. Finally, the Angels had happened upon some winnin’ times.

But that wasn’t a smiling Rojas who greeted reporters in his office after the game. No, Rojas had dug himself in, grimly bracing himself for the second-guessing he was sure would ensue.

“I thought he was tired, it was 130 degrees on the (artificial) turf, we wanted a shutout, he wanted to stay in, I brought in Harvey.” Rojas rattled off his rationale as if he’d spent nine innings preparing it.

No reason to discuss it, Rojas said, which is what he told Witt when he approached the pitcher’s mound to ask for the baseball.

“I’d already made my mind up,” Rojas said. “(Harvey) was coming in.”

Witt still tried to plead his case. According to Rojas, this is how the pitcher’s pitch went:

Witt: “You don’t get that many chances for a shutout.”

Rojas: “Yeah, but I don’t want you to get hurt, either.”

Witt was one out away from pitching back-to-back shutouts for the first time in his career. One more out and Witt would run his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 22.

The manager, however, claimed to be more concerned with the long-term scenario.

“It was hot and I thought he was losing it,” Rojas said. “He walked a guy, he didn’t have the same velocity on his curve ball. What do I do? Leave him in there, have him walk another guy, give up a run or two and have him make extra pitches?

“That was not the end of the season. I’ve got to keep him strong.”

Witt was hoping to pitch to Kurt Stillwell for the final out. He had just walked Mike Macfarlane, the Royals’ No. 9 hitter, and one out earlier, had allowed a single to Frank White. He wanted the shutout and, being a pitcher, he saw it from the pitcher’s perspective.

“I felt good, but I guess he saw something he didn’t like,” Witt said. “He’s the manager, he runs the team. There wasn’t much I could do--he already had a guy coming in from the bullpen. Anything I could say, now or then, would be useless.”

So that’s how Witt lost what would have been his third shutout of 1988, which would have ranked him second in the American League behind Roger Clemens’ six. That’s a tough way to give it up, Witt said, but it would’ve been tougher if Witt were more than a 5-7 pitcher with a 4.26 ERA.

When it comes to all-star and Cy Young Award selections, “a shutout is a nice stat,” Witt said.

“If I was 10-2 right now, with Greg Swindell 10-4 and Roger Clemens 10-4, it might have bothered me,” Witt said. “If it came down to them ending up 20-9 and me 20-10, and I had 5 shutouts and Clemens and Swindell had 4, then it might mean something.

“But I’m 5-7. I’m looking just to finish up strong. There aren’t going to be any Cy Young Awards for me this year.”

Five days after shutting out Texas, 3-0, in Anaheim, Witt outpitched Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen (9-6), who found himself trailing by five runs by the fourth inning.

The Angels scored one run in the second inning when Chili Davis hit a single, then scored on Johnny Ray’s double. Then came a three-run third inning, with Wally Joyner singling home two runs for his 25th and 26th RBIs and Ray driving in another run on a fielder’s choice.

Jim Eppard brought home the Angels’ fifth run with an single in the fourth inning.

Witt took those runs and parlayed them into the Angels’ fourth straight victory, which matched their longest winning streak of the season.

He just wasn’t there for the Royals’ 27th out.

“It’s not every day you get (a chance for) a shutout,” Witt said. “Everybody wants to throw a shutout.

“But the bottom line is a win for the team. We’re on a pretty nice roll now, we’re upbeat now, we’re now looking forward to coming to the ball yard. It’s a different atmosphere.”

Rojas would agree with that. Especially in his office. The questions about slumps and injuries and last place and job security have now been replaced by questions about pulling pitchers from victories that clinch Angel sweeps on the road.

This time, however, Rojas had his answers ready, although Witt might have preferred a bit less preparation.

“If I sometimes let (the players) change my mind, then I’m not doing my job,” Rojas said. “I’m going to be wrong sometimes, but that’s the way it is.”

Angel Notes

How hot was was it Sunday afternoon in Royals Stadium? Officially, the game time temperature was 94 degrees--rising as high as 99 degrees before the final out--but a pregame on-field thermometer registered a reading of 130 degrees. “The heat was hot,” deadpanned Mike Witt. “But I’ve pitched in hotter.” Maybe so, but that didn’t stop Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry from grabbing a bullpen hose and dousing fans in the right-field seats between innings. Nor did it stop Chili Davis from peeling off his scorched cleats in the Angel dugout to soak his feet in ice water before returning to his station in right field. Good thing it was a quick game. “Mike Witt makes hot days a little easier on you,” Angel catcher Darrell Miller said. “He was geting people out early in the count, which was keeping us off the field. I think that really showed in our bat speed. If you have to run around for two or three innings in a row, it takes a lot out of you.”

Three-Game Sweeps: Yes, they are rare for the Angels. This marked the club’s first sweep since July 6-8, 1987, when they took three from Boston in Anaheim. It also marked the Angels’ first road sweep since June 26-28, 1987 (at Chicago) and their first sweep in Kansas City since June 29-July 1, 1979. . . . Baseball’s mercenary court jester, The Famous Chicken, showed up at Royals Stadium to root for the Royals Sunday. Two months ago, he was in Anaheim to root for the Angels, but with appearance fees ranging between $9,000 and $14,000, it’s a living. Sunday, the Chicken got several Angels into the act, including Miller, who was bowled over twice at home plate by the Chicken--once in slow motion. “I was pretty awesome,” Miller acknowledged afterward. “I got my slo-mo down pretty good.” . . . The Royals lost more than a game when the Angels beat Ted Power, 9-7, in Friday’s series opener. Sunday, the Royals announced they were placing Power on the 15-day disabled list because of inflammation in his right elbow. Rick Anderson (7-4, 2.91 at triple-A Omaha) was recalled to replace him in the rotation, with Anderson scheduled to make his first start Wednesday at Chicago.