Angels Beat Tigers on Joyner’s Homer in Ninth Inning, 8-7

Wally Joyner’s two-run home run in the ninth inning gave the Angels an 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers Friday night at Anaheim Stadium.

The winning blow came after Lou Whitaker had given the Tigers a 7-6 lead with a homer in the top of the ninth.

Going into the game, Mike Witt’s early-season struggles had seemed over. In his last five starts before Friday night’s, Witt had a 3-0 record and 2.31 earned-run average. He had brought his overall record back to .500 and set out to enhance it against he team with baseball’s worst records.

Doormats, yes. Dormant, no.

The Tigers helped Witt revive memories of his previous problems, collecting nine hits and six runs in an abbreviated stint of 3 2/3 innings for the Angel starter, and the Anaheim Stadium crowd of 34,924 saw the Tigers take a 6-4 lead, before the Angels tied it with two runs in the eighth.

Witt, who threw 72 pitches, left during a four-run fourth. Frank Tanana, the Detroit starter, left after five innings, having given up three runs in the first and another in the third.

With Tanana and Witt struggling, the early innings were tortuously slow.

Tanana, sidelined 11 days because of a blister on his pitching hand and the All-Star break, required 31 pitches in a three-run first inning for the Angels.

Witt needed 45 in the first two and would have thrown more expect for a spectacular catch by Devon White that ended the second inning and prevented the Tigers from scoring two more runs.

A walk, single by Lou Whitaker and sacrifice fly by Alan Trammell enabled Detroit to take a 1-0 lead in the first.

Consecutive singles by Johnny Ray, White and Wally Joyner got the Angels even in the bottom of the first, with Joyner driving in a run for the seventh consecutive game.

off the left forearm of pitcher Mike Henneman, forcing the change that brought on Beard, the eventual loser.

Harvey gained the victory despite Whitaker’s homer, but it was the middle-relief work of Rich Monteleone that made it possible. Monteleone shut out the Tigers on one hit for 3 1/3 innings after replacing Mike Witt in the fourth.

Witt had a 3-0 record and a 2.31 earned-run average in his previous five starts, but he reverted to early-season form in a 72-pitch struggle covering the first 3 2/3 innings.

He yielded nine hits and six runs, four coming in the fourth when his departure was preceded by consecutive doubles from Mike Heath, Bergman and Tracy Jones.

Detroit starter Frank Tanana left after five innings because of a blister on his pitching hand. He yielded three runs in the first and another in the fourth. Parrish singled in two of the runs in the first, then delivered a sacrifice fly to score the run in the fourth.

With Tanana and Witt struggling, the early innings were tortuously slow.

Tanana required 31 pitches in the Angels’ three-run first inning.

Witt needed 45 in the first two and would have thrown more expect for White’s spectacular catch.

A walk, single by Whitaker and a sacrifice fly by Alan Trammell enabled Detroit to take a 1-0 lead in the first.

Consecutive singles by Johnny Ray, White and Joyner got the Angels even in the bottom of the first.

The bases were loaded with two out when Parrish slashed a single to center, giving the Angels a 3-1 lead.

The Tigers got one run back in the second on a single by Chet Lemon, a wild pitch and a single by Doug Strange. They had runners at second and third with two out when Bergman ripped a curling drive to left-center, where White, who had been shaded into right-center, made a diving catch, preserving a 3-2 lead.

The Angels extended it to 4-2 in the third on singles by Joyner and Downing and a sacrifice fly by Parrish, getting his third RBI. Parrish hit a towering drive to the warning track in center, where Gary Pettis made an over-the-shoulder catch.

The Tigers then chased Witt while scoring four runs in the fourth. The most damaging hits were three consecutive doubles with two out.

Heath got the first, driving in two runs to tie the game, 4-4. Bergman followed with another to make it, 5-4, and Jones collected the third to make it 6-4 and bring in Monteleone, who walked Whitaker before getting Trammell to line out, ending the inning.

Monteleone kept the Angels close, and Greg Minton pitched the eighth, getting Bergman to pop up and Jones to ground out after yielding a one-out walk to Pettis and a single to Heath.

Tiger reliever Brad Havens allowed an inning-opening single to Downing in the eighth, then struck out Chili Davis before right-handed relief ace Mike Henneman was summoned to face Parrish.

Henneman, sidelined for much of the first half with a groin pull and the losing pitcher in Thursday night’s series opener, was touched for a single by Parrish, then struck out Jack Howell for the second out. Schofield, however, grounded a single to left, scoring Downing to make it 6-5 and putting Parrish on third.

Washington followed with a wicked shot that caromed off Henneman’s left forearm and fell unplayable on the grass behind the mound as Parrish scored to tie the game, and Henneman was forced to leave. Then the heroics belonged, first, to Whitaker, but finally to Joyner, who is back in his world.