McCaskill Finally Gets Help in Angels’ 6-0 Win at Seattle

The 1989 Angels may not make anyone forget Murderers’ Row, but they certainly have been into some serious baseball-bashing this season.

Still, while most of the Angel pitchers have had to worry more about getting stiff while their teammates slammed balls over the fence than about holding opponents at bay, Kirk McCaskill has frequently been victimized by a lack of support.

The Angels have scored a total of just 10 runs in his six losses.

Thursday night in the Kingdome, however, Angel batters provided plenty of offense, and McCaskill took care of the rest, throwing a seven-hit shutout to beat the Mariners, 6-0, before 12,584 fans.

The victory, on the heels of Bert Blyleven’s 7-0 win Wednesday night, marked the third time this season that Angel pitchers have had consecutive shutouts. It was also McCaskill’s third shutout of the year, tying him with Blyleven and Boston’s Roger Clemens for the league lead.

The win vaulted the Angels back into first place in the American League West, one-half game ahead of Oakland, which lost to Chicago.

The Angels also got two more home runs, from somewhat unexpected sources--Johnny Ray and Devon White, who each hit his first homer since June 24. The Angels have six players with nine or more home runs.

“I think much of what you do in this game revolves around expectations,” Manager Doug Rader said. “Whenever there are positive expectations, whether it’s doing a good job on the mound or being able to score quickly from anywhere in the lineup, there’s probably going to be success.”

During the first month of the season, there was nothing but great expectation regarding McCaskill (11-6). It seemed as if a run a game would be plenty for him as he jumped out to the best start of his career.

In his first eight starts this season, he averaged almost eight innings per outing and was allowing fewer than one run a start. As a result, he was 5-1 with a 1.06 earned-run average in mid-May.

However, he lost three starts in a row in June and has been somewhat inconsistent ever since. He even missed one start because of a tired arm, but he was the model of consistency after the first few innings Thursday night.

“I was making good pitches until I needed to get an out and then I made some real bonehead pitches,” McCaskill said. “I was lucky to get out of a couple of situations.”

McCaskill said the cortisone shot he received after coming out of a game in Baltimore on July 14 because of soreness in his elbow has made a world of difference.

“If I had known my arm would feel this good after the treatment,” he said, “I would have done it two weeks earlier.”

Since receiving the injection, McCaskill has been more effective with each game. And he was getting better with each inning Thursday night.

“He was getting stronger as the game went on,” catcher Bill Schroeder said. “He had really good control. He didn’t throw hardly any pitches out over the plate. Blyleven was great last (Wednesday) night, but I think they hit more balls hard last night than tonight.”

McCaskill worked the first five innings with no more than a 1-0 lead before the Angels scored three times in the sixth, when they sent nine batters to the plate and left the bases loaded.

Dick Schofield led off with a walk, and Ray lined a home run to left field, his third homer of the season and first away from Anaheim Stadium.

Two outs later, Tony Armas tripled to right-center, missing his ninth home run by just a few feet. Chili Davis lined a single to left to score Armas and give the Angels a 4-0 advantage. Seattle Manager Jim Lefebvre decided that 6-foot-10 starter Randy Johnson wasn’t standing so tall anymore and summoned Bill Swift.

Swift surrendered a double down the right-field line by Lance Parrish and walked Jack Howell intentionally to load the bases. But Schroeder grounded into a force-out to end the inning.

White followed Schofield’s second hit of the night with a home run to right field in the ninth, and the Angels were coasting.

“Kirk should be very pleased with the way he pitched tonight,” Rader said. “We’re all aware of his tired-arm situation, and every time he demonstrates this kind of arm strength, he re-establishes that in his own mind, which is most important.”

The Mariners had two doubles and a single in the first three innings, and came away without a run after getting three singles in the fourth.

Alvin Davis led off the inning with a single to right. Jeffrey Leonard followed with single up the middle, and one out later, Mike Kingery lined a shot to left to load the bases. But McCaskill struck out Jim Presley and got David Valle to pop up to end the threat.

After that, McCaskill kept gaining momentum and retired the last 11 Mariners in a row.

The Angels, who blew a 5-0 lead Monday night and rolled over in an 8-1 defeat Tuesday night, have two lopsided victories in a row and seem to be back on a roll again.

“I think our resiliency can be attributed to strong people who can perform when things get tough,” Rader said. “And there are a lot of people contributing, not just the guys throwing the shutouts.”

Still, when you’re trying to rebound from a couple of very disheartening losses, there’s nothing like a bunch of zeros going up on the scoreboard for the oher team, inning after inning, to make you feel a whole lot better.

Angel Notes

Catcher Lance Parrish, who missed Wednesday night’s game because of a slightly hyperextended left knee, was back in the lineup as the designated hitter Thursday. “I’m going to go out there and put on a base-stealing exhibition like you’ve never seen, just to show you I can do it,” Parrish said, when asked how his knee felt. “Seriously, you never know how well it is until you test it, but not having to squat should help. I just want to give it a break, so hopefully it will come around a little quicker.” . . . Claudell Washington, who has been hampered by a sore shoulder blade lately, got the night off. “It’s been bothering me for about four days,” Washington said, “but it’s nothing that would keep me out of the game. (Manager Doug Rader) just decided to give me a day off. It’s a little knot in the muscle that bothers me when I swing the bat and when I throw off-balance.”

Broadcaster Bob Starr, who does the play-by-play of Angel games for KTLA (Channel 5), will miss three games during the next trip because of a commitment to do Ram radio broadcasts. Joe Torre, who normally does the commentary, will do the play-by-play, and two former Angels will do the color. On Aug. 21, Bobby Grich will join Torre for the telecast from Kansas City. And on Aug. 26, Reggie Jackson will do the commentary for the game in Texas. A substitute for the Sept. 2 game in New York has not yet been named. . . . Catcher Bill Schroeder is anxious to get to Milwaukee, where his daughter, Lindsey, remains in a suburban hospital with a severe ear infection. “She’s not getting better as fast as they thought she would,” Schroeder said before the game. “I just wish we could get this game over with and get on that plane.” . . . The Angels flew to Milwaukee directly after the game and were due to arrive about 6 a.m. Pitchers Chuck Finley, who starts tonight, and Mike Witt, who will pitch Saturday night, left Thursday, ahead of the team.

Thursday, the Angels traded their 1986 No. 1 draft pick, Roberto Hernandez, and outfielder Mark Doran, the No. 1 pick in 1983, to the Chicago White Sox for center-fielder Mark Davis and a player to be named. Davis was hitting .259 at Birmingham, a White Sox double-A affiliate. Hernandez was with the Angels’ Class A Palm Springs team and Doran was at Class A Quad City.