Angels Stop Athletics Again, 5-0

They might be giants at full strength and full roster, but without Jose Canseco, and now Mark McGwire, the Oakland Athletics have been reintroduced to the rest of the pack in the American League West.

With McGwire joining Canseco on the disabled list Wednesday night, the suddenly vulnerable A’s went down to their second consecutive defeat at the hands of the Angels, losing, 5-0, before an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 24,650.

That’s one run in 20 innings for the Athletics, who have been outscored, 12-1, the last two days. Tuesday, Bert Blyleven beat them, 7-1, with a four-hitter, and Wednesday, Kirk McCaskill, Greg Minton and Bryan Harvey combined on a three-hit shutout.

And that lower back strain McGwire had been complaining about? It turned out to be a herniated disk, an injury that put McGwire immediately on the 15-day disabled list. He is expected to miss a minimum of three weeks.

With Canseco probably sidelined through mid-May because of a torn ligament in his left wrist, the A’s find themselves in mid-April missing their lineup’s heart, a duo that produced 74 home runs and 223 RBIs in 1988.

Canseco and McGwire have become the Bashed Brothers.

And the mighty Athletics, winners of 104 games last season, have become just another contender in the AL West.

“I’m sure there are some teams thinking, ‘They’re not the same without those guys,’ ” Oakland Manager Tony LaRussa said. “Our challenge is to show that we’re still a very good ballclub without them.”

Without them, LaRussa has been starting rookie Felix Jose in right field in place of Canseco and will resort to Dial-A-First-Baseman to replace McGwire. LaRussa said third baseman Carney Lansford, catcher Terry Steinbach, outfielder Stan Javier and Wednesday’s triple-A recall, Billy Beane, will all play some at first base.

“It should be interesting,” LaRussa said. “We’ve felt all along we have a deep ballclub. Here’s our chance to show it.”

McGwire will return to Oakland today to begin physical therapy. Last year, McGwire missed seven days toward the end of the regular season because of similar back pain.

“I’ve had back problems most of my life,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be this bad for me, (but) this was probably going to happen to me sometime.”

The pain, caused by a spinal disk rubbing against a nerve, forced McGwire to make a choice: Rest now . . . or pay later.

“If I kept (playing in this condition), I’d eventually have to have surgery like Dave Winfield,” McGwire said. Winfield, the New York Yankees outfielder, figures to be sidelined through late July after undergoing back surgery in late March.

Life without Canseco and McGwire has been difficult for the A’s: Seven hits in two days and only three hits Wednesday night--two of the infield variety. The only line-drive hit of the game belonged to No. 9 batter Walt Weiss, who had a single to right field with two out in the fifth inning.

McCaskill, 2-0 after limiting Oakland to two hits in six innings, broached the subject of the Bashless A’s gingerly.

“I think it’s fairly obvious their lineup is not as strong without those two guys in there,” McCaskill said. “They still have a very good team, but those are two of the best players in baseball. They’ve got to miss them.”

Angel pitchers certainly didn’t. When McCaskill was removed by Angel Manager Doug Rader after six innings because of a stiff back, Minton came on to allow one scratch single in two innings before Harvey retired the side in order in the ninth.

On a bad night for backs, McCaskill insisted his stiffness was nothing more than “standard,” adding: “I could’ve kept pitching. I’ve had a little stiffness since my last start. It’s probably due to the damp weather. It didn’t worry me one iota.”

With Angel starters throwing complete games two of the previous three days, Rader saw the moment as a good time to get his top two relief pitchers some work.

“Taking all things into consideration, even though (the stiffness) wasn’t major, coupled with Minton and Harvey needing work, shutting him down was the proper thing to do,” Rader said.

By then, the Angels had a 3-0 advantage, courtesy of a two-run triple by Mark McLemore and Dante Bichette’s second home run in four days. This homer, coming on an 0-1 pitch by loser Curt Young (0-2), was measured at 418 feet over the left-center-field fence.

Brian Downing made it 4-0 with a bases-empty home run in the seventh, before Bichette drove in the Angels’ fifth and final run with an eighth-inning double.

Despite missing four of the Angels’ first nine games, Bichette leads the club in batting (.357) and is second in RBIs (4). He also is tied with Downing for most home runs (2).

That’s the kind of production the A’s are accustomed to--production they’ll have to find from new sources the rest of the month.

Angel Notes

It’s still early, but entering Wednesday’s game, the maligned Angel pitching staff had an earned-run average of 3.00, with the five starters checking in at 3.31. Last season, Angel starters finished with a composite ERA of 4.56. “If there’s been a real bright spot so far, starting pitching is it,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “I’m elated. It’s been as big a plus as we’ve had.” Bert Blyleven, 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA after Tuesday night’s four-hitter, says the Angel rotation has drawn inspiration from the heavy criticism it received during spring training. “So much has been said about the negative part of our ballclub being pitching,” Blyleven said. “We take a lot of pride in keeping the ballclub in every game we pitch. We’re on a mission. If Mike Witt goes nine innings and I go nine innings, it adds a sense of competition among the starters. I’m sure Kirk McCaskill wants to go nine innings (Wednesday). All that creates positive thinking, which is what we need.”

Shortstop Dick Schofield missed his first start of the season because of the chest injury he sustained Tuesday. Officially, Schofield’s diagnosis is tightness of the right pectoral muscle, which, basically, prohibits him from loosening up his throwing arm. Schofield was available only for pinch-running duty Wednesday night. . . . So Punny It Hurts: Z Channel broadcaster Joe Torre watched Oakland’s Curt Young brush back Glenn Hoffman with an inside pitch and mused, “Is that called ‘dustin’ Hoffman?’ ”