As Langston Watches, Angels Rout Mariners

And on Saturday, Mark Langston rested, which meant the Angels had a chance. Take Seattle’s overpowering left-handed pitcher off the mound and the Mariners are, well, the Mariners, in last place in the American League West for a reason.

Take the seventh inning of the Angels’ 9-2 victory before 29,819 fans Saturday night at the Kingdome. Pick up the action with Angel rookie Kent Anderson on second base, Brian Downing on first and Mark McLemore set to lay down a sacrifice bunt.

With Langston only a spectator, McLemore’s bunt was fielded by Seattle reliever Jerry Reed, who threw to third base in time to beat Anderson, but not in time for Seattle third baseman Edgar Martinez, who missed the throw.

The ball wound up down the third-base line, Anderson scored, Downing took third and McLemore wound up at second.

Next, a passed ball by Mariner catcher Dave Valle allowed Downing to score and McLemore to advance to third.

One out later, with Dennis Powell pitching, Wally Joyner walked. Lance Parrish hit a pop foul that Seattle first baseman Jim Presley snared with a sliding catch. Powell, however, was slow to cover first base, so Joyner took off for second.

Presley’s hurried throw skipped wildly away, enabling McLemore to score.

In a few not-so-easy steps, that is how the Mariners can turn a 2-2 seventh-inning tie into a 5-2 deficit, soon to be a 9-2 defeat.

In the process, the Angels improved their record against the Langston-less Mariners to 3-0. Against Langston, they are 0-2, including an earlier six-hit shutout and Friday night’s 9-5 defeat.

“I don’t think anybody takes any of their other pitchers lightly,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “Granted, if you can play a series with Seattle and miss Langston, you’re catching a hell of a break. But you’ve still got to scrape something together against their other guys.”

Scraping, however, can be made easier when:

--Mariner starting pitcher Scott Bankhead (0-2) surrenders three hits and a walk in the first inning and a home run to Devon White in the third.

--Powell surrenders an eighth-inning home run to slump-ridden Jack Howell, who took a .118 average into the game and went hitless in his first three at-bats.

--Julio Solano, Seattle’s third relief pitcher, serves up a three-run home run to Chili Davis in the ninth inning.

In all, the Angels amassed 12 hits in support of starting pitcher Chuck Finley (2-1), who pitched his first complete game of the season despite yielding nine hits and two walks.

“Some good things happened tonight,” Rader observed.

Then again, there was the first inning, which found the Angels off and running--not always a good thing, considering how the Angels can run the bases.

With the bases loaded and one out in the first, Parrish sent a line drive single up the middle, which scored McLemore from third and should have scored White from second.

But White attempted to score standing up and, worse, slowed to a jog as he approached the plate. A strong throw from Seattle center fielder Henry Cotto and catcher Valle’s left leg cut down White.

Blocking home plate with that leg, Valle sent White for a spill, with White tumbling over--but never touching--the plate. Valle chased down White to make the tag and erase one Angel run.

Another Angel met a similar fate one batter later when Joyner tried to score from second on Claudell Washington’s single to right. Joyner had the presence of mind to slide, but he lacks the quickness of feet to outrun right fielder Mickey Brantley’s throw home.

Another out, inning over and the Angels had managed to parlay three hits and a walk into a solitary run.

“Not a whole lot of things went right in the first inning,” Rader said. “It was more like we persevered through it.”

Rader was asked about White’s non-slide, which made it all possible.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to dwell it with all the good things that happened,” he said. “He’s going to get blocked off the plate no matter what. If I was Devo, I wouldn’t want to run into that big guy, either.”

White would make amends two innings later by homering into the left-field seats against Bankhead.

This time, White scored standing up.

“He couldn’t block him on that one,” Rader deadpanned.

Still, those lost runs of the first inning loomed large when Seattle rallied to tie, 2-2, in the bottom of the third. Jim Presley and Edgar Martinez hit successive singles off Finley, advanced on Rey Quinones’ sacrifice bunt and both came home on Harold Reynolds’ single to center.

Finley didn’t let another Mariner run cross the plate and recorded a rare complete game. Last year, in 31 starts, Finley had two complete games.

Rader kept Finley on the mound until the Mariners broke down. It can happen at any time, but this time, it happened in the seventh inning, when everything but the Kingdome roof collapsed on Seattle.

“The key to success is not allowing that type of thing to happen to you,” Rader said. “They had two innings like that tonight. They lucked out in the first, but if you keep going to the well, it’s going to get you sooner or later.”

For the Angels, the seventh inning was soon enough.

Angel Notes

The Angels are running short on shortstops, which is why Kent Anderson made his major-league debut Saturday night. He got his chance when Glenn Hoffman, filling in for injured Dick Schofield, took a Mark Langston fastball on his left forearm Friday. Hoffman had the arm X-rayed and no break was detected, but a deep bruise relegated him to reserve status for Saturday’s game. . . . Anderson, 25, was the forgotten man in the Angels’ training camp, his playing time squeezed by the extensive trial given ex-Cincinnati Red shortstop Dave Concepcion. Anderson received just 12 at-bats all spring, but hit safely five times, finishing with a .417 average. “I didn’t have a lot of at-bats, but I had a pretty good spring,” Anderson said. “They were playing Davey a good bit, but they had to see what he could do. They also had Hoffman in camp and Schofield’s got to get his work in, too. I was fortunate to hit as many times as I did.” When the Concepcion experiment failed, Anderson was sent to Edmonton but, in effect, moved up the depth chart. “I thought I’d get the call (to the majors) some time this year,” Anderson said. “I didn’t realize it would be this early.”

Johnny Ray took ground balls at second base for the first time since being placed on the disabled list last week with a sprained left wrist. “He’s not to the point where he can swing a bat,” trainer Ned Bergert said, “but he’s begun some forearm resistance work. He’s eligible to come off (the disabled list) on the 21st, and he could be ready by then.” . . . Chili Davis, playing with a sore right shoulder, has discontinued treatment on the shoulder, hoping that a light weight program will be enough to strengthen the joint. Davis has yet to record an outfield assist with his weakened shoulder, but Saturday he showed signs of coming around with the bat, going 2 for 5 with a three-run home run.