A Langston-Witt Gem Dandy : Angels: An unlikely pair combines against Mariners for the team’s first no-hitter at Anaheim Stadium since 1975.

Mark Langston, the Angels’ $16-million man, held Anaheim Stadium enthralled Wednesday night with a pitching performance that was priceless--and hitless.

That he lasted only seven innings against his former Mariner teammates did not diminish his feat, for in a wonderful bit of irony, the finishing touches on the 1-0 victory that was the eighth no-hitter in the Angels’ history were provided by Mike Witt, who 5 1/2 years ago pitched the only perfect game in the club’s history.

Langston, who said he was too shocked to feel the impact of his achievement, far exceeded the modest goals he had set for his Angel debut.

“Believe me, this isn’t even close to how I pictured it,” said the 29-year-old left-hander, who followed his usual practice of sitting in the tunnel that leads from the dugout to the clubhouse between innings rather than sitting on the bench with his teammates. “I was hoping to throw five strong innings. I was very fortunate and grateful to be able to go seven. The defense was great behind me.

“I felt like I was in a groove from the third inning on. I was throwing strikes and staying ahead of the hitters. I was hoping we were able to get a run and we’d be able to pull it off.”

Not only did they pull it off, they pulled it off with grand style. The combined no-hitter was the first in the major leagues since July 28, 1976, when John Odom and Francisco Barrios of the White Sox teamed up to defeat Oakland. It was the first no-hitter for the Angels at Anaheim Stadium since Nolan Ryan did it to Baltimore on June 1, 1975. It was also the first no-hitter in the major leagues since Tom Browning’s perfect game against the Dodgers on Sept. 16, 1988.

“I wasn’t around for Mike’s perfect game, and I know something like this doesn’t come around too often,” first baseman Wally Joyner said. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of people saying it isn’t as good because it was two pitchers, but nine pitchers could do it and it’s still exciting.”

The Angels didn’t score their run until the seventh, when Dante Bichette drew a bases-loaded walk with the count full.

Langston threw 98 pitches, striking out three and walking four. He issued two of those walks in the first inning, with the others coming in the third and fifth. The Mariners hit nothing hard and had an unusually high number of groundouts against Langston, who characterizes himself as a fly-ball pitcher. That’s because Langston’s slider was working so well, a fact catcher Lance Parrish recognized early.

“The fastball and slider, all night long,” he said. “I only called one curveball and one changeup. I think that every time he pitched this spring, I caught him and it got an awful lot easier every time I did, because I learned how he likes to set up batters.

“I’m not sure he was nervous. It just took him a while to air it out. He’s a power pitcher and his fastball was rising out of the strike zone. It takes a pitcher like that time to get used to the mound.”

The Mariners got used to what Langston threw, but couldn’t touch it. “It was a hell of a way to lose,” said Seattle starter Erik Hanson, who threw five shutout innings.

“The only thing I’m disappointed in is that we pitched a good game ourselves and lost,” Mariner Manager Jim Lefebvre said. “There was good pitching on both sides. Unfortunately, it took a no-hitter to beat us.”

After seeing Langston’s power pitches, the Mariners were baffled by Witt’s assortment of breaking pitches. In each of the two innings he pitched, Witt got the first two batters on grounders to second and struck out the final hitter swinging.

The crowd of 25,632, which had booed Witt’s arrival from the bullpen before the eighth inning, rode on his every pitch and exploded in cheers when Ken Griffey Jr. struck out to end the game.

“I just wanted to come in and throw strikes, is all I could think of,” said Witt, who earned his first save since Sept. 20, 1983. “This is something special.”

Angel Manager Doug Rader, who was managing the Texas Rangers when Witt pitched his perfect game on Sept. 30, 1984, had Witt in mind as soon as he knew Langston was too tired to finish.

“I knew Witt was the right guy to finish this one. He’s done it before,” Rader said. “The one that Mike Witt threw was the most dominating I’ve ever seen. This was the most satisfying because we’ve got the new kid, Langston, and Mike Witt comes in and finishes. Mike Witt deserves this. He’s a hard-working guy.”

Witt’s teammates shared that sentiment. “When Mike came in, (the fans) weren’t very positive. I hope it was just because Mark couldn’t come back out and not because they didn’t want to see him,” said Joyner. “I was rooting for Mike anyway, but I was really rooting for him to shut those people up, if that was the reason why they were booing.”

Langston knew he simply was not strong enough to continue. Rader had checked with him continually from the fourth inning on, and Langston had no regrets over leaving his work unfinished.

“I basically had hit the wall after the seventh,” said Langston, who took a no-hitter against Toronto into the ninth last season while he was still with Seattle, only to lose the no-hit bid and the game. “I threw a lot of pitches early in the game. I wasn’t tempted to stay in, not at all. This early in the season, I’m lucky to go seven. It’s wild, coming out of the chute and this happening.”

No one on the bench mentioned the no-hitter, obeying an ancient if slightly silly baseball tradition.

“We didn’t say a word, but everybody was clapping with each pitch,” said Rick Schu, who had never before seen a no-hitter. “It was pretty exciting. All the guys were anxious to make the plays behind him.”

“We were trying to score a run all night, but Erik Hanson kept us off balance with his changeup,” Joyner said. “He’s the best pitcher I’ve seen this year--except Langston. I didn’t have to face him, thank goodness.

“Nobody said anything until the seventh, when Mark came off the field and Doug (Rader) told him he was finished. By then, the superstition was over. We knew Mark was out of the game and how well he’d pitched, and we knew that was our last chance to score a run for him.”

They did score, when Bichette barely held back on the 2-2 pitch served by reliever Gary Eave.

“Last year, I would have gone up swinging,” he said. “It was a matter of regrouping myself during the at-bat. We needed this game because the pitchers pitched so well. I just can’t believe this.”

Nor could Langston. “It’ll probably hit me tonight about four in the morning because I won’t be able to sleep,” he said. “I think I had better stuff with Montreal (a 12-strikeout performance in his Expo debut after being traded by the Mariners) than I did tonight because my fastball was all over the place early. But I’m pretty happy with this.”

Angel Notes

Shortstop Dick Schofield may remain on the disabled list beyond the minimum 15-day period because he experienced increased discomfort in his right hamstring Tuesday after taking ground balls and moving laterally on the field. Trainer Ned Bergert said the muscle discomfort meant Schofield had “regressed a little bit.” Bergert added, “He’s eligible (to come off the disabled list) on the 16th and I don’t think at this time it’s likely he’ll come off on the 16th.” . . . Reliever Bob McClure, whose sore left elbow showed no improvement following a cortisone injection Monday, will undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging test today at Centinela Hospital. The test, in which a radio frequency pulse causes electrical elements of injured tissue to react and appear on a computer display, is being done “for peace of mind, to make sure nothing is being missed,” Bergert said.

Catcher Bill Schroeder, who is on the disabled list because of soreness in his surgically repaired right elbow, will see Dr. Paul Jacobs, who performed the arthroscopic procedure, next week in Milwaukee. . . . Jack Howell rejoined the healthy Wednesday, exactly a week after he sprained his left ankle while diving for first base in an exhibition game. “I’m OK, as far as practice situations, ground balls hit pretty much right at you, batting practice, and running pretty much straight ahead,” said Howell, who blooped a double that landed just inside the right-field foul line in his first at-bat Wednesday. “That’s not to say I expect game situations to be all that different. The only way to tell is trying to turn on a good fastball, beating out a grounder or fielding a hard shot hit to your left when you’ve got to make a quick turn. Til those things happen, I don’t know how it feels.”