For the Old Times, Ryan’s 3-Hitter Stops Angels, 3-0

The crowd at Anaheim Stadium accorded Nolan Ryan an extended standing ovation before Thursday night’s game, an All-Star welcome befitting a conquering hero returning home after almost a decade away.

Then the Angel batters proceeded to pay their own sort of tribute, eking out a couple of hits in the first two innings before meekly retiring, as the Texas Rangers rode the Ryan Express to a 3-0 victory before 37,867 fans.

The last time he pitched in this facility--Sept. 24, 1979--Ryan helped the Angels clinch a tie for the American League West title with a 4-3 victory over Kansas City. This time, however, he almost singlehandedly bumped the Angels out of first place with his 28th career three-hitter.

Ryan struck out 12, marking the 189th game in his career with 10 or more strikeouts. It was also his 56th career shutout, tying him with Bert Blyleven for 13th on the all-time list.

“I don’t know who wouldn’t be affected by that kind of reception,” Ryan said. “It will be one of the highlights of my career. Those are the kinds of things a professional athlete will always remember.”

And Ryan (10-4) responded with the type of performance his fans will remember.

“He’s a special pitcher, a fantastic athlete, and you have to give him credit for rising to the occasion,” said Angel Manager Doug Rader, whose team dropped one-half game behind first-place Oakland. “He’s just a terrific competitor. (Angel starter Kirk) McCaskill pitched well enough to win normally, but not against Nolie.”

McCaskill didn’t have a bad outing--eight innings, five hits, two runs--he merely had an unlucky draw when a rainout Sunday in Texas moved Ryan’s start from Wednesday night to Thursday night.

They staged an old-time pitchers’ duel for six innings, until McCaskill’s nemesis, Steve Buechele, ended a scoreless tie in the seventh with his fifth homer of the season, a no-doubt-about-it shot to left-center field.

It also ended a 98-inning homerless streak for Texas. In the ninth inning, Ruben Sierra put an exclamation point on that achievement, sending a 1-and-0 McCaskill delivery into the seats in right-center . . . and McCaskill (9-5) to the shower in the process.

The Rangers scored once more in the ninth against reliever Willie Fraser when Buechele singled to left and scored on Jeff Kunkel’s double down the left-field line.

Buechele has three home runs in 17 at-bats against McCaskill. Moreover, Buechele’s solo shot on June 25, 1986, in Texas, was the lone hit for the Rangers in a 7-1 Angel victory.

That was as close as McCaskill has ever come to a no-hitter, but Ryan, who accomplished the feat four times with the Angels, is baseball’s all-time leader in no-hit games with five.

Ryan had plenty of fans in the crowd on this evening, but nobody was rooting for him more than Texas Manager Bobby Valentine.

“If you can’t like Nolan Ryan, you can’t like anybody,” Valentine said. “And if you don’t appreciate his ability, then you should watch some other sport.”

The Angels did plenty of watching. Few spent any time running the bases.

Ryan, who had more than his share of roller-coaster rides while pitching on the Anaheim mound in an Angel uniform, must have felt as if he had been through this before in the early going.

He gave up a walk to Dick Schofield to open the first inning, and after a one-out bloop single by Devon White, he looked as if he might fall behind in a hurry. But he got out of the inning by striking out Brian Downing on two very Ryanesque breaking balls and a vintage Ryan fastball.

The Angels’ first baserunner of the second inning, Tony Armas, got aboard when he swung at a two-strike wild pitch in the dirt that skipped past catcher Chad Kreuter to the backstop as Armas scampered to first.

Just like old times in the Big A.

“The first couple of innings, because of the reception I got, I tended to overthrow a bit,” Ryan said. “It took a couple of innings to settle down.”

Ryan doesn’t exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve, but Buechele said he was aware that this outing had special meaning for the veteran.

“It’s hard to tell when he’s keyed up, but I think he really wanted to pitch here,” Buechele said. “And Nolan Ryan is the greatest competitor I’ve ever seen in a baseball uniform.”

After Ryan settled into his groove, he retired 12 in a row before Johnny Ray led off the ninth with a ground-ball single up the middle.

Valentine made a quick trip to the mound, but when Ryan said, “I’ll get this guy,” the manager did an about-face and watched the master put the finishing touches on his 211th complete game.

Angel Notes

Second baseman Johnny Ray, who would have been eligible for free agency this fall, signed a two-year extension with the Angels Thursday. The deal, worked out between Tom Selakovich, Ray’s agent, and Dan O’Brien, Angel senior Vice president of operations, includes a club option for a third year. The agreement is a departure from the Angels’ policy of declining to negotiate during the season, but General Manager Mike Port said talks began at his instigation because of “in-house” reasons. “This does not signal a change of policy,” Port said. “It’s still our preference to wait until the end of the year. But there may be other exceptions. Every scenario has a different twist.” Ray, who became an Angel on Aug. 29, 1987, after a trade with Pittsburgh, has a .302 average with 62 doubles and 86 RBIs since joining the team. Port also said that Ray’s contract extension does not mean that second baseman Mark McLemore, currently playing for triple-A Edmonton, will necessarily be available for a trade.

Reliever Greg Minton, due to come off the 15-day disabled list Saturday, is ready for action. When he was asked by Angel coaches how he felt after throwing on the sideline last week in Minnesota, Minton said, “Well, considering it didn’t hurt when you put me on (the DL), it feels the same.” Thursday, he said the strained flexor tendon in his right elbow still felt fine. “Saturday, I get to be an athlete again,” he said. “I’ve lifted so many weights, I’m ready for the Olympic barbell team.”