Orioles Keep Their Spell on Angels : Pitching Collapse Perpetuates Skid in Memorial Stadium

It had to happen sooner or later.

The Angel pitching staff, proud owners of the best earned-run average (2.69) and the fewest number of walks (61) in the American League before Tuesday, saw the magic of April evaporate during their first outing of May.

Angel pitchers took a walk on the wild side Tuesday night, sending 10 Orioles to first via the base on balls--including five in the seventh inning--as the Orioles came from behind to beat the Angels, 4-3, before 17,688 in Memorial Stadium.

The Angels led, 3-1, when starter Chuck Finley walked Billy Ripken and Brady Anderson with one out in the seventh. Then came reliever Greg Minton, who got Phil Bradley to fly out to center on his first pitch.

Minton threw 13 more pitches, 12 of which were balls, one of which was a wild pitch. And the Angels, who are 13-0 when leading after seven innings, let one get away.

“(Catcher Lance) Parrish came out to the mound and said, ‘The ball’s moving great, just throw strikes,”’ Minton said, managing a smile. “I thought, ‘Good idea, Lance, but I’m not trying to bounce these to the backstop.’

“I’ll take the blame for this one. The whole game hinged on a few outs and I didn’t get them.”

By the time Bob McClure came to the mound, the score was tied and the Orioles still didn’t have a hit in the inning. McClure got the final out of the seventh and Willie Fraser worked a 1-2-3 eighth. But Fraser gave up a leadoff double to Anderson in the ninth and, a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly later, the Orioles were alone atop the AL East standings.

“Greg didn’t miss by that much, but the bottom line is (the calls) went the other way,” Manager Doug Rader said. “As well as he’s pitched for us this year, I certainly hope no one is overly critical of him.”

Minton, whose nickname is Moon Man, acknowledged that he fell into a crater this time, but he has been getting the key outs all season. He had allowed a run in only two of his first nine appearances and last night’s was the first save opportunity he has blown.

“Everything was low,” Minton said. “After the first few balls, I started thinking, ‘I’ve got to get this one up.’ Then I thought, ‘Wait a minute, I can’t throw a high sinker.

“The Moonie just vapor-locked this time.”

For the first 6 1/2 innings, the Angel machine appeared to be running as smoothly as it has all season. Finley struggled a bit, but had given up six hits and only one run when Billy Ripken singled to left, Anderson walked and Bradley singled to score Ripken in the fifth.

The sweet music of April then struck a sour chord when the Angel pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone. They walked seven Orioles in the last three innings, including two intentional walks to load the bases with one out in the ninth.

That’s when pinch-hitter Jim Traber, after fouling off a half dozen pitches, hit a fly ball to the warning track in right. But Anderson wasn’t able to trot home with the winning run. Rookie right fielder Dante Bichette, who had thrown out Larry Sheets trying for a double and almost got the speedy Anderson in the same situation in the ninth, cranked up and fired the ball over Parrish’s head at the plate.

Gregg Olson, who pitched two innings in relief of starter Jose Bautista, got the victory for Baltimore.

“Traber’s at-bat was one of the better at-bats of the season,” Oriole Manager Frank Robinson said. “There were three key plays in this game--Anderson’s double, Bradley’s sacrifice and Traber’s fly ball.”

Rader, however, pointed to the Angels’ inability to keep Billy Ripken, who had two walks and a single, and Anderson, who had two walks and a double, off base.

“The difference in this game was we couldn’t get out the No. 9 hitter (Billy Ripken) and the No. 1 hitter (Anderson),” Rader said. “That’s the ballgame.”

The Angels went ahead, 2-0, in the fourth inning when Wally Joyner and Johnny Ray found a spot on the right-field wall to their liking. Joyner missed a home run by about two feet--in two directions--with a drive that hit next to the 360 sign on the 14-foot high wall.

Two feet higher and it would have been over the fence; two feet more toward center and it would have hit the yellow area that designates a home run where the outfield fence veers away from the wall.

Joyner had to settle for a double, but he scored in a hurry when Ray followed with a slightly shorter shot that cleared the glove of a leaping Mike Devereaux and bounced off the wall for a triple. Ray scored on Devon White’s single to right.

The Orioles cut the lead to two in the fifth, but Brian Downing, leading off the sixth, hit his fourth homer of the year.

“We could have easily won this one,” Finley said. “When Brian hit the homer, we should have won it. But it all comes back to those walks. Like they say, walks will haunt you.”

The Angels, who haven’t won a season series in Memorial Stadium since 1978, always seem to find a weird way to lose in this park.

This time, it was the spectre of the base on balls that scared up another Oriole victory.

Angel Notes

Outfielder Claudell Washington flew home to Orinda, Calif. before Tuesday’s game to be with his 15-year-old daughter, Camille, who was hospitalized after a household accident Tuesday afternoon. Washington departed in a rush and club officials had only sketchy details. . . . Right-hander Rich Monteleone, who was recalled from triple-A affiliate Edmonton on Monday, was 1-3 with a 3.82 earned-run average, but the Trappers were shut out in his three losses. “I was pleased with the way I was pitching,” Monteleone said. “I was in a groove as far as what I wanted to do with the ball.” Monteleone acknowledged that he was surprised to be called up, especially considering the way the Angel pitching staff has performed. “It’s not like they need pitching, the bullpen hasn’t had much work,” Monteleone said. “I’m just happy to be here, though.”

The question now is whether Monteleone will remain with the Angels when shortstop Dick Schofield, on the disabled list because of a minor tear of a chest muscle, returns. Trainer Rick Smith said Schofield should be ready for the four-game series against the Blue Jays that begins Thursday in Toronto. “I hope I’m not just here for a couple of days,” Monteleone said. Manager Doug Rader isn’t ready to announce a decision, but he opened the season with an 11-man staff and said Tuesday that Monteleone was brought up and second baseman Mark McLemore was sent down to “protect” the pitching. “Our pitching has put us where we are,” Rader said, “and I feel working with your strengths is a better way to go than attempting to shore up your weaknesses.”

Tony Armas continues to feel tightness in his strained left hamstring when he runs and the Angels are taking no chances with the 35-year-old outfielder. “I think it’s still going to be 10 days to two weeks,” Smith said. “He’s had problems with his legs before and we don’t want 3 1/2 weeks of therapy to go down the drain because we tried to get him back one or two days early.”