Robinson Guesses Right: Traber Delivers : Oriole’s Pinch-Hit Home Run Ruins Fraser’s Outing and Sinks Angels

Jim Traber, bat in hand, was sitting at the end of the Baltimore Orioles’ bench Thursday evening when Manager Frank Robinson motioned for him to pinch-hit. A dramatic moment, it wasn’t.

“I stared at Frank, he stared back; I got ready to hit,” Traber said.

But as corny as it might sound, Robinson later said he had “a feeling” that Traber would do something special as the Orioles tried to untie a 5-5 score in the top of the eighth.

Cornier still is that Robinson was right.

Traber made his way to the plate, where he would face Angel reliever Willie Fraser, the same guy he had beaten earlier this season with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly. But this time Fraser was cruising, retiring 10 of the first 11 Orioles he faced.

The count grew to 3-2 when Fraser decided on a fastball inside. This much he knew: He didn’t want to walk Traber, thus, putting the winning run on base.

He didn’t.

Instead, Traber jerked Fraser’s pitch into the right-field seats, some 390 feet away from home plate. It departed quickly.

“When I hit it, I knew it was out,” Traber said.

So did Fraser, who could only watch a perfectly fine 3 2/3-inning relief appearance ruined by a single swing. And all because Robinson had a premonition.

“It was just a feeling putting Traber in,” Robinson said. “I had an idea that Traber would get one.”

This is the sort of slump the Angels are in these days: Robinson guesses correctly, Fraser guesses incorrectly. Robinson points to someone who had spent the night on the bench and that someone delivers. Meanwhile, the Angels, now losers of 11 of their last 14 games, can’t seem to catch a break, to say nothing of Traber’s blast.

“Everything (Robinson) has done this year has been done right,” Traber said.

The same can’t be said of Fraser, who has struggled with inconsistency and the idea of becoming a full-time bullpen resident this season. But Thursday night was different. This time, Fraser threw as if he didn’t have a worry in the world. The Orioles? One, two, three in the fifth. One, two, three in the sixth. One, two, a single, three in the seventh.

Then came the eighth inning and, of course, Traber.

“I knew what I wanted to do with him,” Fraser said. “I was trying to get the ball in on him, but I just didn’t get it done.”

Said Traber: “He’s throwing a lot harder this year coming out of the pen than as a starter. But he was in a tough situation. I know he didn’t want to walk me.”

Fraser didn’t quite know how to assess the 6-5 Angel loss. He had done well in relief of starter Jim Abbott, but he had also made one glaring error in judgment.

Also to be remembered is Traber’s recent hitting streak. Until Monday, he had hit safely in 13 consecutive games. In the last 16 games, Traber has driven in 16 runs and raised his average 76 points. No slouch is he.

“I felt I threw the ball good,” Fraser said. “You take that one pitch away and it’s a great outing.”

Keep that one pitch and it’s still a performance to proud of, said fellow Angel reliever Greg Minton, himself a victim of a game-winning homer not long ago.

“I feel sorry for Fraser,” he said. “That might have been his best outing of the year. He’s looking to get over a hump, too. Seems like a lot of guys are looking to get over a hump right now. (We) didn’t quite make it.”