Joyner’s Home Run in Ninth Tops Tigers, Keeps Angels in First

He should have made believers Thursday night, but if there was any doubt that Wally Joyner has rekindled his old-world charm of 1986, he removed it Friday night.

His two-run, ninth-inning home run lifted the Angels to an 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers before 34,924 fans at Anaheim Stadium, preserving the Angels’ percentage-points lead over the Oakland Athletics in the American League West.

Joyner, who had driven in the winning run Thursday night with a ninth-inning single, followed a leadoff single by Devon White with his fifth home run, a towering shot off Dave Beard that carried deep into the Angels’ bullpen in right field.

Lou Whitaker had broken a 6-6 tie and given the Tigers a 7-6 lead by slugging a home run, his 20th, off Bryan Harvey in the Detroit half of the ninth.

White and Joyner erased it, prompting the chant, “Wally, Wally,” from the crowd. Joyner was engulfed by teammates after circling the bases, then emerged from the dugout to wave his cap to the crowd.

Joyner has batted .362 over his last 39 games to raise his average from .257 to .302.

In a span reminiscent of ‘86, Joyner has driven in at least one run in seven consecutive games and has 16 RBIs in July.

He had three hits Friday night, as did White, who also made a spectacular, diving catch of a potential extra-base hit by Dave Bergman, costing the Tigers two runs in the second inning.

Detroit finished with 13 hits. The Angels had 15, with Lance Parrish driving in three runs on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly.

This was a 3-hour 40-minute game that the Angels led, 3-1 and 4-2, before trailing, 6-4. Then they rallied in the eighth for a 6-6 tie on singles by Brian Downing, Parrish, Dick Schofield and Claudell Washington.

The latter’s wicked shot caromed 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.

ONE’S NOT ENOUGH

The Tigers play a terrific fourth inning, but that doesn’t matter in the end. Elliott Teaford’s story, Page 8.