Bichette Foils Twins’ Strategy in 12th, 7-5

Three times he saw fastballs from Rick Aguilera, and three times Dante Bichette fouled them off. The game between the Twins and Angels was two outs into the bottom of the 12th inning, but the mind game between hitter and pitcher was just beginning.

“After the third, I figured he thought I was looking for a fastball,” said Bichette, who was batting after Johnny Ray had singled and gone to second on Wally Joyner’s groundout, and Chili Davis was intentionally walked. “Then he gave me a breaking ball, up a little bit.”

Bichette sent it over the center-field fence by more than a little bit. His three-run home run gave the Angels a 7-5 victory that was sweeter for being so unlikely and so late.

“It’s nice to pull this one out with all the opportunities we had to win it in the first place,” said shortstop Mark McLemore, whose fielding error in the eighth inning had put Al Newman on base with the eventual tying run. “To win--and to win like this, especially after they walk Chili to get to Dante--is real nice.”

Conventional wisdom dictates against putting the winning run on base as the Twins did in walking Davis. Rader disagreed: “That’s baloney. In that situation, you pitch to the guy you think you can get out. One time in Boston (when Rader was managing Texas), I put the winning run on to pitch to (Wade) Boggs in the ninth. I thought they were going to run me out of town, but we got away with it.”

Minnesota Manager Tom Kelly didn’t.

Angel starting pitcher Bert Blyleven went six innings against his former teammates, allowing three runs and striking out one. The winning pitcher was Bryan Harvey, although he had allowed Minnesota to take the lead in the top of the 12th on a single by Newman, a walk to Kent Hrbek and an RBI single by Gary Gaetti. Aguilera (0-1) took the loss.

“I’d never faced that guy before, and, from what I knew, he was a fastball pitcher,” Bichette said. “A couple of guys said he threw a fastball and slider. I just wanted to get a pitch that was out over the plate.”

Bichette was hitless in his first four at-bats Saturday and had singled in the 11th, only to be stranded at third base when pinch-hitter Donnie Hill struck out. But Bichette had made his mark in the 10th, throwing Kirby Puckett out at the plate to preserve a 4-4 tie and earn his fifth assist of the young season.

Puckett had led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on Hrbek’s single to short center. Gaetti flied out to medium-deep right field, and Bichette, who had started the game in left field but was moved to right before the ninth inning, caught the ball on the run.

“It’s something I worked on, the quick release and getting the ball on target,” Bichette said. “He made it close because he can run. After I let it go, I didn’t know if we had him.”

The Angels had him by a step or two, as Bichette’s one-hop throw found Lance Parrish’s glove and Parrish administered the tag to Puckett’s left hip.

“If he stays in the lineup he’s got a legitimate shot at being the first 30-30 guy,” Rader had said before the game. “I know what you’re saying--that’s been done before. But not 30 homers and 30 assists.”

The Twins jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a double and home run by Hrbek, the 400th hit off Blyleven in his career. That moved him a notch up on a dubious all-time list: he has given up the seventh-most home runs in baseball history. But that mattered little to him later.

“I’m very thankful that we won. That’s the main thing,” said Blyleven, who had gone only five innings in his opening day loss last Monday. “This is a good omen. We were down by a run and just kept battling back.”

The Angels got one run back in the first on Wally Joyner’s first home run of the season, but the Twins took a 3-1 lead in the third on Puckett’s RBI groundout. A two-run home run in the fourth by Parrish made it 3-3, where it stood until Jack Howell doubled and scored on Ray’s double in the seventh.

Angel Notes

Seeing his club in action for a week has not moved Angel General Manager Mike Port to make a move. He continues to talk with peers but said he is not close to a deal. He also debunked the rumor that the Angels would acquire Boston closer Lee Smith, saying the Red Sox might be reluctant to trade Smith because Jeff Reardon has back problems.

“We’ve kicked a lot of things around with other clubs, but at this point it’s just general,” Port said. “It’s identifying other peoples’ needs and interests and keeping them advised of our interest. Sometimes these things take a lot of spadework.”

Port reiterated that he’s satisfied with his personnel. “Unless or until something achievable comes along, we’re still very, very comfortable with the cast we’ve got,” he said. “We’re determined not to do anything unless it’s right and the circumstances permit. If we have a surplus of pitching, it might be a case of utilizing all our pitching and defense and building from that.”

Although Mike Witt believes he’s headed elsewhere, Port would not be definitive. “His last three or four times out, going back to the Freeway Series, he’s shown great improvement in terms of velocity,” Port said. “I see a lot of things there of Mike Witt in his prime. He’s well on his way to being the Mike Witt we know he can be. What the rest of the season holds, it’s day-by-day.”

Kent Anderson, who committed two errors Friday, wasn’t in Saturday’s lineup. But Manager Doug Rader said it wasn’t because of the misplays, but because he wanted to play Mark McLemore at shortstop Saturday and Anderson there today. . . . Rader has yet to use the same lineup twice this season . . . Shortstop Dick Schofield, who won’t come off the disabled list as scheduled Monday, won’t take ground balls again until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Having seen the Angels commit six errors in their first five games and their opponents commit 11, Rader believes the shortened spring training is to blame. . . . Told that Minnesota third baseman Gary Gaetti thinks the infield grass at Anaheim Stadium is too high, Rader laughed. “He’s not cutting it,” Rader said. “Our groundskeepers get pooped out and we can’t keep them out there. I think theirs is too short.” The Twins, of course, play on artificial turf . . . An error charged to Chili Davis in the seventh inning Friday was rescinded. Instead, Brian Harper was credited with a double and an RBI for driving in Kirby Puckett.