Angels Come Out Swinging at Last and Get 13-5 Win

The spotlight has been on the pitchers recently--what with Kirk McCaskill shaking off the effects of a shaky spring on Friday night and rookie Jim Abbott making his much-heralded major league debut Saturday night--but the Angels’ early-season batting slump was lurking in Manager Doug Rader’s mind.

Rader fielded the scores of questions about his pitchers and occasionally found time to ponder why his team wasn’t scoring.

The Angels managed to push across just 12 runs in the first five games and only four in the previous three.

“Our run production is a concern,” Rader admitted.

Sunday, however, the Angels bunched 13 runs in the first three innings, collected 15 hits in all and coasted to a 13-5 victory over Seattle in front of 23,226 at Anaheim Stadium.

“I don’t ever think one game represents a trend but it’s really good to see a bunch of guys swinging the bat well and getting some hits,” Rader said. “But I’d be very excited if this was the beginning of a trend.”

One trend remains intact, however: When the Angels face Mariner left-hander Steve Trout, good things usually happen to the guys with halos on their hats. In one four-inning stint against the Angels last season, Trout walked three, hit three batters, balked three times and threw two wild pitches.

Sunday, he lasted just 2 1/3 innings, yielding eight runs, seven of them earned, on eight hits.

“I certainly think there are some preconceptions about how you’re going to do when you know that you’ve done well in the past,” Rader said. “I would hope we would go into this game with confidence.”

OK, so maybe this one was more aberration than trend-setter, but there were other positives. Rader, who is wont to juggle his lineup, using a combination of gut feelings and computer printouts to make his decisions, looked like a managerial whiz after deciding to start Tony Armas in place of Wally Joyner at first base and Dante Bichette instead of Claudell Washington in right field.

Bichette was three for five with a home run and two runs batted in. Armas, who left in the second with a sprained hamstring, hit a two-run homer in the first.

And just when it seemed the hitters would completely steal the show, right-hander Mike Witt settled into a groove and retired 18 Mariners in a row before giving up a two-run homer to Mario Diaz in the ninth. Witt finished with a seven-hitter and the Angels’ first complete game of the season.

Rader characterized Witt’s performance as a “terrific job.” Witt, always his own harshest critic, didn’t exactly see it that way.

“I’m not happy,” said Witt, who struck out five and walked just one. “A win’s a win, and I’ll take it, but there’s plenty to work on. Five runs is not a good game as far as I’m concerned.

“I’m not going to say that retiring 18 in a row is easy, but when you get in trouble, that’s when you have to pitch. I’ve got to be a better pitcher with guys on base than I was today. It’s a good thing I had the big lead.”

The Angels gave Witt a most comfortable cushion and they wasted no time providing it. They scored four times in the first, twice in the second and capped it off with the seven-run third.

Armas’ two-out drive into the seats in right-center got things rolling in the first, and Bichette followed Chili Davis’ single with his first major league homer, a towering shot to left.

Bichette, who got his third start of the season (all against left-handers), was hitless in his first five at-bats before Sunday and was beginning to wonder what had happened to his spring swing--the one that rocketed his Cactus League batting average to .388 and earned him a spot on the roster.

“I was pressing, but (hitting instructor Deron Johnson) told me it was human nature for people to press and that everyone tries to hit eight-run homers at first,” Bichette said. “He told me just to relax and play ball. He told me to try to wait on the ball, but not to worry so much about being impatient.”

So Dante didn’t worry and Sunday he was happy. Of course, he wasn’t the only Angel having fun on this Sunday in the park. Seven Angels had one or more RBIs and third baseman Jack Howell was the only starter without a hit.

Seattle came back with three runs in the second on two singles, Jim Presley’s two-run double and a sacrifice fly. But the Angels got two more hits--doubles by Dick Schofield and Devon White--in the second and both players scored.

It was the third inning, however, that broke the game open.

Bichette and Lance Parrish opened the inning with sharp singles to left. One out later, after Mike Jackson replaced Trout, Schofield singled to left and the Angels led, 7-3. Brian Downing’s single loaded the bases and Mark McLemore followed with a run-scoring single to left. Then White walked to force in run No. 9.

Wally Joyner, who replaced Armas, blooped a pop fly in front of diving left fielder Greg Briley to score Downing, but McLemore was thrown out at the plate. Davis followed with a run-scoring single to left.

Then Seattle’s rookie center fielder, Ken Griffey Jr., earned himself a $100 fine from Manager Jim Lefebvre for forgetting his sunglasses and losing Bichette’s high fly ball in the glare to let two more runs score.

Twelve Angels came to the plate in the inning before reliever Dennis Powell came on to strike out Howell for the final out. Of the 25 batters Trout and Jackson faced, 19 reached base.

The Angels batters managed just two hits after the third. By then, maybe exhaustion had set in.

Angel Notes

The Angels were 0-3 against left-handers before Sunday, but they figured to have a good chance of breaking the string against Seattle starter Steve Trout, who had a 5.52 earned-run average against them last season. Only two Angel starters had a lifetime batting average below .280 against Trout and six others were hitting .350 or better. Rookie Dante Bichette had never faced Trout, but he’s hitting 1.000 with a home run and two RBIs against him now. . . . Welcome to the Big Leagues: Bichette had his most embarrassing moment as a rookie in the ninth inning Sunday. He singled to right and when right fielder Darnell Coles slipped and fell on top of the ball, Bichette started toward second. Then he stopped and looked at Coles and finally took off again at a jog before being thrown out by five feet. “I didn’t want to run because I didn’t want to rub it in,” Bichette said, “but the crowd kept yelling. I guess he was playing a little possum with me.” The Angels led by eight runs at the time, so Manager Doug Rader could laugh. “I asked the guys on the bench if we had a kangaroo court and they said, ‘We do now!’ I don’t know why he jogged. I guess he thought there was a penalty on the play.”

Tony Armas started at first base in place of Wally Joyner Sunday, but Joyner didn’t get much of a rest. Armas strained his left hamstring, first stretching for a throw in the first inning and then again running to first in the second. “It’s the kind of thing where we’ll have to look at it in 24 hours or maybe even Tuesday morning to evaluate the extent of the injury,” Rader said. . . . The Angels are offering $1 general admission tickets to youngsters 15 and under at all Monday through Thursday games this season. All children must be accompanied by an adult with a maximum of four with each adult.

ANGEL ATTENDANCE

Sunday 23,226

1989 (6 dates) 167,856

1988 (6 dates) 189,283

Decrease 21,427

1989 average 27,976