Dose of Detroit Helps Angels Sweep : Witt Stops Injured Tigers to End Own Winless Streak, 3-1

Sweep or be swept were apparently the only options available to the Angels during this trip through the American League’s heartland.

Winless in stops at Kansas City and Texas, the Angels finally arrived in Detroit, where the crippled state of the Tigers narrowed those options to one.

OK, take three and go home.

In Detroit, the mighty have fallen and they go by the names of Alan Trammell, Matt Nokes, Fred Lynn, Jack Morris and Jeff Robinson--all currently on the disabled list or quickly headed there. Left in their stead are the likes of Scott Lusader, Dave Bergman, Rick Schu, Al Pedrique and David Palmer--all on the field during Sunday’s series finale at Tiger Stadium.

Is it any wonder that the Angels were able to beat this motley crew, 3-1, to complete their first three-game sweep in Detroit since 1970?

Is it any wonder that Mike Witt, winless since May 13, chose this occasion to end a personal four-game losing streak that included a 7.14 earned-run average over five starts?

Credit it to fortuitous timing or scheduling or attrition, but today, the Angels are feeling a lot better about a trip that began 0-6 before the team charter touched down in Motown.

“This saved us,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “Now, we can go home no worse than 13 games over .500 and 2 1/2 out.

“And, having a road trip like we had, we were looking at a lot worse.”

In fact, with first-place Oakland’s loss, the Angels (39-26) ended up only 1 1/2 games out, alone in second place.

The Angels took a seven-game losing streak into Detroit, which they ended on Friday night by beating up on rookie pitcher Mike Schwabe. The same night, they ended a seven-game homerless streak when Chili Davis cleared the fences with the first of four Angel home runs this weekend.

And Sunday, Witt ended his own five-week winless streak, completing seven innings while allowing the Tigers one run on six hits.

Welcome to the place that heals all wounds and cures all slumps.

Doctor Detroit.

Rader was extolling the importance of the Angels’ sweep here when he paused for an aside to the writers assembled in his office.

“There’s only one problem,” Rader said. “We’re running out of minor-league clubs to get us back on track.”

A reporter from Detroit arched his eyebrows, sensing that Rader had just provided him with a quote destined to find its way on the Tigers’ clubhouse bulletin board.

Sensing what the reporter was sensing, Rader straightened up in his chair to make sure everyone was getting everything straight.

“No, no,” Rader said. “I’m talking about Midland. Our double-A ballclub. We’d lost seven straight and then we went to Midland to play them on Thursday. Since then, we haven’t lost.”

The inspiration of the Midland trip has been a running gag among the Angels. Rader suggested the Angels line up a game with Quad City next. Get it?

Thus enlightened, the reporter nodded and scribbled in his note pad.

“No,” Rader continued, growing serious. “I’d never do that to Sparky.”

Still, the moment illustrated just how badly things are going for Sparky Anderson’s Tigers. Slapped by an injury wave that Anderson describes as “ridiculous,” the Tigers have recalled so many players from their Toledo triple-A club that they have had to delay placing Nokes on the disabled list--despite a torn knee ligament--for the lack of a capable replacement.

Sunday, the Tigers started the recently recalled Palmer in place of Paul Gibson, who had to move to the bullpen when Guillermo Hernandez developed a sore arm. Palmer didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, which resulted in all the runs the Angels would score this afternoon.

Claudell Washington opened the inning with a walk. By the time Johnny Ray singled and Devon White walked, the Angels had the bases loaded with no outs.

Wally Joyner singled one run home. A fielding error by Palmer on a dribbler by Davis brought in another. And after a fielder’s choice by Lance Parrish scored a third run, Anderson reversed himself and brought on Gibson to replace Palmer.

Handed those three runs, Witt finally was able to turn them into victory, his fourth in 11 decisions.

It wasn’t an overpowering performance, with Witt allowing five baserunners in the first two innings and retiring the side in order only twice. But, at long last, it was good enough.

“Very admirable,” was Rader’s assessment. “That was a shot in the arm for the ballclub. It gave us a chance to salvage the road trip.

“And, let’s face it, (Witt) desperately needed it, too.”

Witt called the victory “a big lift for me. I was happy with my curveball for the first time in a long while. That’s my bread and butter--and if I can start getting it over (the plate) with any degree of consistency, maybe I can turn things around.”

Witt said he felt good enough, and strong enough, to complete nine innings, but didn’t argue when Rader removed him after seven. Rader’s thinking? To preserve the victory and send Witt out on a positive note for the first time in a long time.

“I understand that,” Witt said. “He wants me to win as badly as I do. I knew what was going on there.”

Sure, the Angels were in Detroit, home of the American League East’s last-place team. Sure, the Tigers were fielding a virtual junior varsity.

But the way this trip began for the Angels, there was no sense pressing the issue on the day they were to leave for home.

Angel Notes

One Angel glad to leave Detroit is relief pitcher Bryan Harvey, who finally put together a decent outing after blowing a 2-0 ninth-inning lead here on May 10 and taking a line drive off his right foot Friday night. Sunday, Harvey pitched the last 1 1/3 innings to earn his eighth save, allowing no hits and one walk. But that walk almost proved a killer--coming on four pitches to load the bases with two out in the bottom of the eighth. “I was talking to myself after that one,” Harvey said. And he fell behind the next hitter, Tracy Jones, 2-1, before retiring him on an inning-ending fly ball to right field. In the ninth, Harvey settled down to pitch a perfect inning. “I’d still like to get the first batter one of these days,” Harvey said. “My mechanics are not close to being good. But I threw some strikes in the ninth. Things are going to get better.”

The Angels’ sweep of the Tigers was their first in Detroit since Aug. 25-26, 1970.