Bichette’s Homer Tops Twins in 12th

Dante Bichette hit a three-run home run with two out in the 12th inning off Rick Aguilara to give the Angels a 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins Saturday in Anaheim Stadium.

The home run drove in Johnny Ray, who had singled, and Chili Davis, who had been walked intentionally with two out to bring Bichette to the plate.

The home run was his second of the season.

Gary Gaetti’s single with one out in the 12th inning scored Al Newman to break a tie and give the Twins a 5-4 lead.

Newman had led off with a walk off Bryan Harvey and went to second when Kent Hrbek walked.

The Angels mixed defensive gems with defensive generosity Saturday, and, predictably, got mixed results.

Outfielder Bichette had saved the game in the 10th inning with his fifth assist of the young season, throwing Kirby Puckett out at the plate as Puckett tried to tag up on Gaetti’s fly ball.

The Angels took a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning on doubles by Jack Howell and Ray sandwiched around Devon White’s fielder’s choice grounder.

But the Twins tied the score in the eighth against reliever Willie Fraser. With one out, Fred Manrique reached when shortstop Mark McLemore erred on a grounder. Manrique scored when Puckett tripled into the right-field corner.

Mark Eichhorn relieved Fraser and got out of the inning. Eichhorn walked Hrbek--who stole second--but struck out Gaetti and got Randy Bush to fly to right.

Max Venable, inserted into the lineup as a defensive replacement after the eighth inning, saved the game for the Angels in the ninth. While sliding on his stomach, he managed to catch Al Newman’s sinking liner, with Greg Gagne and Dan Gladden taking off from second and first, respectively.

Starting pitcher Bert Blyleven--who gave up three runs in six innings and departed with the score tied, 3-3--climbed a notch higher on one of baseball’s more dubious all-time lists. The first-inning home run he yielded to Hrbek was the 400th he has allowed in his career, the seventh-highest total in major league history.

It was also the second run he allowed in the inning. Gladden led off with a double to left. He moved to third on Manrique’s grounder to second and scored on Puckett’s grounder to second. Hrbek, hitting cleanup, hit Blyleven’s two-and-one pitch over the fence in right field for his second home run of the season. Right fielder Claudell Washington leaped and many fans thought he had caught the ball, but it was just beyond his reach.

The Angels closed to 2-1 in the bottom of the inning when Wally Joyner hit a two-and-one pitch from Roy Smith over the fence in almost straightaway center for his first home run of the season. But the Twins rebuilt a two-run margin in the third inning on a double by Manrique, wild pitch by Blyleven on his first offering to Puckett and Puckett’s run-scoring grounder to third.

Lance Parrish tied the score with a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Washington worked a full-count walk and scored ahead of Parrish, who hit a two-and-one pitch into the family section in left field. Parrish had hit a two-run shot Friday off Allan Anderson.

Blyleven didn’t retire the Twins in order until the sixth inning, but even then, he gave the crowd reason to hold its breath when White caught Hrbek’s long fly ball a stride from the wall.

The sixth was Blyleven’s last, and he was relieved by Willie Fraser. Blyleven allowed six hits and three earned runs while lasting an inning longer than in his opening day loss to Seattle last Monday.

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.