Angels Return Home and Fall to Brewers, 5-4

There were 40,241 fans at Anaheim Stadium Friday night to welcome the Angels back from their successful swing through the Midwest.

The Angels had won five of six games against Kansas City and Minnesota and, maybe even more significant to those who like to see a little action with their baseball, they scored five or more runs in all but one of those games.

But the Angels ended up losing, 5-4, to the Milwaukee Brewers in 11 innings Friday night as their home record dropped to 11-22, the worst in baseball.

They managed just three hits in the first seven innings against Milwaukee before staging a mini-rally in the eighth that tied the game, 3-3, and sent it into extra innings.

The Brewers led, 5-3, in the 11th after Rob Deer scored on Paul Molitor’s two-out single, and Billy Jo Robidoux scored on a wild pitch.

The Angels made it 5-4 in the bottom of the 11th when Tony Armas and Darrell Miller singled and Armas scored on Dick Schofield’s grounder to third that forced Miller at second.

Johnny Ray doubled and Wally Joyner was walked intentionally to load the bases, but Chili Davis struck out looking to end the game.

For the first 2 1/2 hours, the Angels played like they have all too often when they’ve pulled on their home uniforms this year.

Left-hander Chuck Finley, who has become one of the Angels’ most consistent performers in a season were most of his teammates have had lots of downs and few ups, turned in another outstanding outing and got another no decision to show for it.

Finley (4-8), who had recorded a career-high 8 strikeouts by the fourth, finished with 10. He gave up three runs and seven hits in nine innings.

His biggest flaw Friday was in an area in which he has excelled. He came into the game having allowed just four home runs in 102 innings, but he gave up a pair of solo shots this time out.

The Angels managed to push across a run in the fourth, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of offensive outburst that characterized the recent road trip when they had five consecutive games with 10 or more hits.

Brian Downing and Jack Howell drew walks and Devon White looped a dying line-drive single to center to score Downing. Brewer shortstop Dale Sveum ended the threat, however, when he made a staggering stab of Tony Armas’ hard grounder up the middle to start an inning-ending double play.

Finley, who had not allowed a home run in 32 innings, gave up a no-doubt-about-this-one shot in the second inning. Rob Deer lined a rocket into the second deck in right-center and everyone in the park knew it was a homer a split-second after Deer’s swing.

The Brewers’ second run also came via the solo homer, but this time it came from a less likely power source: catcher Bill Schroeder. With one out in the fifth, Schroeder hit a towering fly to left. Schroeder, who had just one homer this season, was running hard, but Finley apparently knew where the ball would land. While everyone else watched the flight of the ball, he stood in front of the mound, holding his glove up, waiting for a new ball.

The Brewers took a 3-1 lead in the eighth on a single, two intentional walks, a balk, their fourth and fifth stolen bases of the night and a sacrifice fly by Sveum.

The Angels finally awoke from their eight-inning slumber in the bottom of the eighth, however. They couldn’t do much with starter Bill Wegman, totaling just three hits in the first seven innings, but when Milwaukee closer Dan Plesac came in to pitch the eighth, they re-discovered the offensive groove.

With one out, Wally Joyner lined a single off Plesac’s leg and, with two out, Downing hit a shot into the gap in right-center that hopped over the wall on one bounce. George Hendrick, pinch hitting for Howell, dropped a two-run single into center to tie the game and then was out trying to take second when center fielder Robin Yount threw home.

Angel Notes

Second baseman Mark McLemore, who underwent surgery to remove a clotted vein from his right arm June 17, had the stitches removed Friday and said he will start light throwing on Wednesday. “I haven’t done anything but ride the bike since the operation,” McLemore said. “There’s no real timetable, but I think I should be ready to play in about two weeks. I’m not going to rush it, though. I’m not going out there at 95% or even 98%. I’m waiting until I’m 100%.”

McLemore, who has been out of action since May 23, said he will wait and see how his arm reacts to Wednesday’s workout before he decides when he will start swinging a bat. “There were no complications and they say everything’s going well,” he said. “It feels good just to have it out and to know that I’ll be able to come back and play. I already notice the difference. I can put my arm in positions I wasn’t able to before the surgery.”

Off the Wall Dept.: Here’s one from Peter Gammons’ Inside Baseball column in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated: “In Anaheim, California Angels owner Gene Autry, whose current skipper, Cookie Rojas, doesn’t seem likely to be around come October, was reported willing to trade shortstop Dick Schofield to Montreal at the end of the season to snare Expo Manager Buck Rodgers.”

Rojas, whose team had won six of seven going into Friday night’s game, was too busy feeling good to worry about such rumors. “We’re playing decent baseball, consistent baseball,” Rojas said, flashing a rare grin. “When you get good pitching, some hitting and play fundamental baseball, you’re going to win some games. We’ve started doing that and we swept a team (Kansas City) that had won 12 of 13 and took two of three from another team (Minnesota) that usually plays pretty well at home. That’s when a team starts believing it can beat the good ballclubs.” . . . The Angels did get solid pitching on the road trip, but their defense was still a bit shaky. The difference, of course, was the offense. They hit .312 with 13 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs during the 6-game trip and scored 5 or more runs in 5 of the games.