THE WORLD SERIES : OAKLAND ATHLETICS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS : Giant Staff Virtually Unarmed Against A’s Powerful Lineup

Over the 162 games of their fife and drum march to a National League championship, the San Francisco Giants employed 15 starting pitchers. Each member of their original rotation spent time on the disabled list except Don Robinson.

Faced with physical shortcomings of a similar nature in the best-of-seven World Series, it was not surprising that the Giants came up short in other ways as well.

The critical category was games won. The Oakland A’s swept the Series, four games to none. The score Saturday night was 9-6, the aforementioned Robinson lasting only 1 2/3 innings as the Giants’ starter.

Over the long season, the Giants’ patchwork pitching staff finished third in the league in team earned-run average at 3.30.

In the Series, with Robinson nursing a sore knee that restricted him to 8 1/3 innings over the previous six weeks, and with Scott Garrelts complaining of a sore elbow and Rick Reuschel in and out of the rotation with back, groin and shoulder problems, San Francisco’s starters compiled an ERA of 11.77 and averaged 3 1/3 innings.

“The one thing that surprised me most,” Giant Manager Roger Craig said, “is that we didn’t pitch up to expectations. Some of our guys weren’t 100%, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse.

“If we had pitched to expectations, we’d still be playing, but we were four or five runs behind in every game, and it’s tough to have to keep battling back in a short series.”

The Giants were outhit, 44-28, and outscored, 32-14. Of their 14 runs, 10 came after they trailed, 13-3, and 8-0, in Games 3 and 4.

The staff ERA was 8.21 compared to the A’s 3.50.

Attempting to keep the Giants alive, Robinson said his knee was a factor Saturday night, but he also played it down.

“It’s tough enough trying to beat that team when you’re 100% and almost impossible when you’re 80%,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have been out there if I hadn’t thought I was capable of pitching, but it did take away some from my velocity. I wasn’t able to push off like I normally do.”

The pitch that proved fatal to Robinson was a two-strike, two-out fastball to opposing pitcher Mike Moore in the second inning.

Moore swung and missed at two high fastballs, but this one was down a little and he hammered it over the head of center fielder Brett Butler for a two-run double and a 3-0 Oakland lead. Moore scored on a single by Rickey Henderson, and Robinson left, trailing, 4-0.

“They scored three runs off one pitch,” Robinson said of Moore’s double. “I wanted to get it in the same place as those first two pitches but made a mistake.

“Maybe if I had pitched more in the last few weeks I’d have had more confidence in a breaking pitch or a cutter (cut fastball) in that situation, but I’m not going to second-guess the selection, just the location.”

Robinson opened the game by falling behind Rickey Henderson, throwing two consecutive balls on cut fastballs. He had to come in with a fastball, and Henderson hit it over the left-field fence.

“My cutter wasn’t working at all,” Robinson said of his best pitch. “Part of that was the knee. Part of it was not having been out there much recently. I fell behind and had to make too many good pitches to too many good hitters.

“The A’s have everything, and we didn’t do the job in any category, especially starting pitching. We won a National League pennant with the third-best ERA in the league, but we didn’t pitch well against the A’s. We weren’t in any game. We didn’t give our offense a chance. That’s a disappointment.”

Having dismissed the injuries as a reason for the pitching breakdown, Craig also dismissed the uncertainty of the 10-day layoff created by the Oct. 17 earthquake.

“Oakland’s starters were off the same number of days and didn’t seem to have any problems,” he said. “We just didn’t make the pitches we wanted to make.

“We were outpitched, outhit and outplayed. I give the A’s a lot of the credit. They have the type team that should be up there for a number of years to come.”

Craig had a brief team meeting after the final out Saturday night and said he told his players they have nothing to be ashamed about.

“I reminded them that nobody even expected us to be here, that they battled back all year to win a National League championship and that they could expect to be even better next year,” he said.

“I told them that was all I wanted them to think about. I mean, we were beat by a great club, and as much as I hate to lose four in a row, I won’t go home feeling badly about this.

“My dauber isn’t down.”

The Giants have responded aggressively in previous winters to correct deficient areas. They signed Butler as a free agent to play center field and be the leadoff hitter. They traded for Steve Bedrosian as the stopper out of the bullpen.

Craig said that he and club president Al Rosen have already addressed the club’s needs, and the acquisition of a starting pitcher is among them. The Giants are expected to pursue free-agent pitcher Mark Langston while also bidding to beef up their hitting. A new right fielder is another need.

Against the A’s, the bottom five hitters in the Giant lineup were 10 for 68. The A’s also controlled Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell, who drove in a combined total of four runs and were nine for 33.

Said National League playoff star Clark, sitting at his locker: “Their pitching was very good, very consistent. They held us down in crucial situations. Everyone talks about their big boppers, but I think their pitching and defense is very underrated.”

Said Terry Kennedy, the Giant catcher: “It hurts to get beat as soundly as we did, but I’m not going to let that take anything away from what we did this year.

“Being league champion is no small thing, and I think it’s a crime what some people are saying now about some of our pitchers, considering what they accomplished this year. The A’s just kept pushing at the door, and we didn’t have enough guys to keep it shut.”

Enough guys physically healthy enough to keep it shut, but that may be corrected now that it’s finally the off-season.

Said Craig, forcing a smile: “We’ll do anything to improve the club except change managers.”