Angel Bats Are as Hot as Weather : Brewers Get More Hits but Still Lose 30-Hit Slugfest, 12-9

Anaheim Stadium is a nice place to pitch . . . at night. The marine layer blows in off the ocean and fly balls die in the heavy air. But a warm Sunday afternoon in this park usually isn’t much fun for a pitcher.

Just about everyone swinging a baseball bat had a good time Sunday, and it was the Angels who were smiling after the hits finally stopped ricochetting off the walls and seats.

The Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 12-9, in front of 35,122, even though they were outhit, 17 to 13.

Of the 30 hits in the 3 1/2-hour game, 10 went for extra bases. There were four home runs, and at least six fly-ball outs carried to the wall or warning track.

“I don’t think we can get the grass to grow quite long enough to counteract this,” Manager Doug Rader said, shaking his head. “No matter how far ahead you get, you never feel safe. It reminds me of Atlanta. You get eight runs up and you’re still on the edge of your seat the whole game.”

Just ask the Brewers’ Bill Wegman about the perils pitching in Anaheim Stadium during a day game. Or the Angels’ Kirk McCaskill. Or the Brewers’ Mark Knudson and Bill Krueger.

Wegman was a last-minute replacement for Ted Higuera, who had a stiff back. A few minutes after he stepped up on the mound, Wegman wasn’t feeling too well, either. He lasted just 2 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits, two homers--including former Brewer Bill Schroeder’s grand slam--and nine runs.

“When I hit that home run to give us the 9-2 lead, I figured that was it,” Schroeder said, “but they didn’t waste any time coming back. It was a good game . . . well, good for the fans, not so good for the pitchers.”

McCaskill brought the league’s best earned-run average (1.06) by a starter into the game, but with the temperature on the rise, his ERA was soon headed in the same direction. The Brewers pounded him to the tune of 11 hits and seven runs, five of them earned, in four innings and by the time he left, his ERA was 1.70.

Brewer pitchers Knudson and Krueger were next in line for demoralization. Knudson went three innings and yielded just two runs, but he too was tagged for a home run, Claudell Washington’s second of the day.

Then came Krueger, who pitched the last 2 2/3 innings and allowed just one run . . . you guessed it, a homer by Devon White, who has hit home runs in four consecutive games.

Seldom-used Dan Petry got the victory for the Angels, pitching 4 1/3 innings and giving up four hits and two runs. Greg Minton came in to get the last two outs.

“You hate to see Kirk get roughed up, but it’s probably better for the team it happened this way,” Rader said. “The starters can’t go on like they have all year. They’re all going to have days like this and the way Petry pitched is a settling factor for me.

“Kirk didn’t throw that poorly, it was just that everything he threw up there got smoked. It was just one of those days when everyone was seeing the ball well and swinging well.”

That’s an understatement.

There was Schroeder’s slam. Washington had four hits, two homers and four RBIs. White had a triple and a homer.

Milwaukee’s Paul Molitor went four for six. Terry Francona had two singles, a double and two RBIs. And Glenn Braggs had two singles, a double and a walk.

And those are just the highlights.

The Angels scored nine times in the first three innings. Their first three batters reached base--Brian Downing singled, Washington and Johnny Ray doubled--and Wally Joyner’s sacrifice fly put the Angels ahead, 3-0.

The Angels scored twice more in the second, via Kent Anderson’s walk and Washington’s fourth homer of the year.

After the Brewers rallied for a pair of runs in third on four singles, the Angels appeared to blow the game open in the bottom of the third when Schroeder, who had just missed hitting a homer in his first at-bat, slugged his second career grand slam.

A single by Joyner, a double by Chili Davis and an intentional walk to Jack Howell set the stage for Schroeder’s clutch hit and Wegman’s exit.

The Angels, who had not allowed an unearned run in 27 games, gave up a gift pair in the fourth. McCaskill wasn’t exactly snake bit, though. The Brewers also had four hits and scored three earned runs in the inning.

Braggs got things rolling with a double to left-center. One out later, Francona ripped a double down the left-field line to score Braggs. Bill Spiers walked and Molitor’s run-scoring single cut Milwaukee’s deficit to five runs.

Robin Yount followed with a run-scoring single to left, but the ball hopped over Davis’ glove and rolled to the wall as Molitor scored and Yount went all the way to third. Yount scored on a groundout and the Angels’ big lead had evaporated.

The Angels stretched the margin to 10-7 in the fifth on a pair of walks and Anderson’s single off the glove of third baseman Molitor. Molitor got that one back in the sixth, however, when he singled, stole second and moved around to score on a pair of fly balls.

Washington’s second home run put the Angels up 11-8 in the sixth. And White’s low, line-drive shot over the wall in left-center in the eighth gave them a four-run lead.

When the Brewers scored once in the ninth and left the bases loaded, White’s home run seemed more than just icing. Without it, Milwaukee would have been a single away from tying the game.

“I knew it was in the alley and I knew I hit it well, but I didn’t know it had that upward spin on it,” White said, laughing. “Yeah, the ball was carrying pretty well today.”

Angel Notes

Dan Petry, who made only his second appearance in almost a month Sunday, says he is beginning to feel comfortable as a middle reliever. “It’s a different role that I’m trying to adjust to,” said Petry, who has been a starter for most of his nine years in the majors. “I really wanted to finish this one, but my longest outing this year was 4 1/3 innings so I think that was a factor.” Manager Doug Rader brought in Greg Minton after Petry had walked Glenn Braggs with one out in the ninth. “It’s nice to finish a game,” Petry said. “Being out there to shake hands with your teammates, that’s what you play for.” Petry could be getting more chances soon. Rader says he has been very impressed with Petry’s last two outings. In those last two appearances, Petry has pitched 8 1/3 innings and allowed just four hits and two runs.

Rader, who normally lets pitching coach Marcel Lachemann do all the communicating with the pitchers, made a rare trip to the mound Sunday. What did he have to tell Kirk McCaskill that was so important he felt it necessary to make a personal visit? “Nothing,” Rader said. “Lach was sick as a dog. He was in my office lying on the couch, watching the game on TV. When things got really sticky, though, I came in here and dragged him out of sick bay.”

Claudell Washington, for one, thinks Devon White can break Yankee Don Mattingly’s major league record of eight consecutive games with a homer. White’s home run Sunday was his fourth in four games. “He’s more than capable,” said Washington, who played with Mattingly at New York when he set the record. “All he has to do is maintain his concentration and be selective. Devo’s a lot stronger than he looks.”