Falling Angels Flattened by the Twins, 6-3

Post-Oakland depression hit the Angels hard Monday night. The high from Sunday’s exhilarating victory over the Athletics dissipated quickly, bottoming out during a 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Anaheim Stadium.

You want offense?

The Angels managed 10 hits in 7 2/3 innings against Minnesota starter Allan Anderson, but could turn only two of them into something tangible, such as runs.

You want pitching?

Angel starter Kirk McCaskill gave up hits to the first batters he faced, both Twins eventually scoring. By the sixth inning, he had given up nine hits and five runs, and by the seventh inning, he was done.

You want defense?

Angel left fielder Chili Davis provided a few innings’ worth of 1988 flashbacks, when he wreaked havoc in right field, by committing one error--which led to one Minnesota run--and reacting creatively to a couple of other balls hit in his direction.

Overall, Minnesota had 15 hits against three Angel pitchers, which were two more hits than the Angels had against three Minnesota pitchers.

Yet, the outcome never seemed in doubt, with the Twins opening as much as a 6-1 advantage before the first out of the seventh inning.

Playing idly on a night the A’s were idle, the Angels lost another half-game in the AL West standings and trail Oakland by 1 1/2 games.

McCaskill was in trouble from the outset, giving up a leadoff single to Al Newman, who was promptly advanced to third by Dan Gladden’s double.

Just the way you like to face Kirby Puckett for the first time of the night: With no outs and two runners in scoring position.

Puckett got one run home by grounding out to second base. Clean-up hitter Randy Bush drove in the other with a single to left field, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Angels countered with a run in the bottom of the first--not bad, but still far from what might have been. In the inning, the Angels had three singles, hit one ball to the wall and another near the warning track, yet entered the second inning trailing, 2-1.

After Devon White’s leadoff drive the sent Puckett crashing into the center-field fence for the out, Brian Downing, back in the lineup for the first time in more than a week, bounced a single up the middle. Then Johnny Ray flied out to deep left field before Downing could advance to second on Wally Joyner’s broken-bat bloop single.

Downing scored on a single by Chili Davis, which also moved Joyner to third base. But there both runners remained as Tony Armas grounded into an inning-ending force play.

In the fourth inning, the Angel defense began to break down. Bush opened the inning with a flare to left field, which should have dropped for a single but wound up skipping under Davis’ glove for an error, allowing Bush to take second.

Two outs later, Bush scored Minnesota’s third run on catcher Brian Harper’s single.

McCaskill worked a scoreless inning in the fifth, only to work his way into further difficulty in the sixth. With one out, Gary Gaetti singled and Jim Dwyer walked, with Harper’s sharp grounder to third base moving both runners into scoring position.

And score they did, with John Moses blooping a hit down the left field line and into Davis territory again. Finally collecting the base, Davis made amends, of sort, by firing to second baseman Johnny Ray, who slapped a tag on Moses to close out the inning.

McCaskill pitched to one more batter, Wally Backman, who opened the seventh inning with a double into the left-field corner. On came Angel relief pitcher Greg Minton, whose problems of late--three home runs in his previous two innings--continued.

Minton yielded hits to the first two Twins he faced, the first, a single by Newman, scoring Backman with Minnesota’s sixth run. It took a sliding catch in right field by Armas on a Puckett line drive to get the Angels out of the inning without greater damage.

Minton came back to complete a scoreless eighth inning--aided by a double-play ground ball--but was unable to finish the ninth. After sandwiching two singles around two outs, Minton was replaced by Bob McClure, who retired pinch-hitter Greg Larkin on a line drive to second base.

Anderson (14-9) was pulled in the eighth inning for different reasons. Complaining of a slight twinge in his upper back, Anderson gave way to reliever Juan Berenguer with two outs in the eighth.

Berenguer walked Armas and gave up a single to Lance Parrish. This was followed by a double down the left-field line by pinch-hitter Jack Howell that scored Armas and might have scored Parrish had a fan not reached over the field-box railing and touched the ball.

Fan’s interference was called, holding Parrish at third. And there Parrish was stranded when Kent Anderson grounded to first for the third out.

Jeff Reardon was summoned to pitch the ninth inning and he retired the side in order, earning his 22nd save of the season.

Angel Notes

Only in Anaheim, only in 1989: It’s the 14th day of August. The Angels are one game out of first in the West. And starting on the left side of their infield Monday night were Kent Anderson at shortstop and Bobby Rose at third base. Angel Manager Doug Rader gave Rose, 23, his first major league start in the heat of pennant race, teaming him with rookie Anderson, the injury-replacement for Dick Schofield. Why? Because Rader wanted to give his regular third baseman, Jack Howell, a night away from the pennant race. Howell is mired in a three-for-34 slump and was coming off a particularly rough series, both in the field and at the plate, against Oakland. “I just wanted to get Jackie away from it, like I’ve done with others from time to time,” Rader said. “He can get away to work with Deron (Johnson, Angel hitting coach) with the batting cage without the pressure of playing today.” Rose was recalled from double-A Midland last week to fill the roster vacancy created when Schofield was placed on the 21-day disabled list.

Designated hitters Brian Downing and Claudell Washington traded places Monday, with Downing returning to the lineup in time to replace Washington, who was sidelined after receiving a cortisone injection in his left shoulder Sunday afternoon. Downing hadn’t played since Aug. 4 because of a flare-up of his chronic rib-cage condition. Washington was available only for pinch-run duty and figures to be a few days away from returning to the Angel outfield. . . . Reserve catcher Bill Schroeder was also relegated to the bench after receiving a cortisone shot in his right elbow Sunday. Schroeder underwent elbow surgery when he played for Milwaukee in 1986 and, according to Angel trainer Rick Smith, has had periodic problems with inflammation in the elbow ever since. With starter Lance Parrish playing with a tightly wrapped sore rib cage, rookie John Orton, 23, was the lone able-bodied catcher on the Angel roster.

Bert Blyleven, the 38-year-old who may never grow up, still gets a kick out of watching things blow up. For Monday’s prank, Blyleven strolled quietly past a huddle of sportswriters in the Angel clubhouse and nonchalantly dropped a firecracker on the floor. Off it went within feet of the writers, rattling a few eardrums and causing Rader to open the door of his office and peer out at the smoke. “Schoey, stop fooling around,” he yelled at Schofield, the mild-mannered shortstop who usually makes about as much noise as a resin bag. Blyleven and Rader both grinned knowingly and then went off to resume their daily rounds.

ANGELS GROUNDED

Allan Anderson keeps infielders busy. Steve Lowery’s story, Page 6.