Angels’ Power Spoils Moore’s Night

Before it had been decided precisely whose bash that was at Anaheim Stadium Tuesday night, the gathering seemed mostly to belong to Oakland pitcher Mike Moore.

That was because the Angels belonged to Mike Moore.

It was a matter of the two parties following form. Moore was 5-0 against the Angels in his past six starts, and hadn’t lost to them since 1987, when he was a Seattle Mariner.

But the sixth inning came, and form ceased to function. The Angels chased Moore, and in an inning filled with twists, scored three runs that tied the score, 5-5. It stayed that way until the 12th, when Oakland scored twice to win, 7-5.

During the first five innings Tuesday, Moore gave up only two hits. One was a second-inning single by Lance Parrish, who was stranded. The other was more substantial, a two-run homer in the fourth by Chili Davis.

Moore might not have had the Angels in his pocket, but thanks to his teammates’ offense, including home runs by Carney Lansford and Mark McGwire, he had a 5-2 lead. For the Athletics, that’s the comfort zone.

But Moore’s outing began to unravel on an infield hit, of all things--by Johnny Ray, of all people.

Ray, it is worth remembering, is the Angel second baseman whose speed and range have been criticized. Ray found himself benched late last season after failing to run out an infield pop, prompting Manager Doug Rader to criticize him for lack of hustle.

Ray led off the sixth, and hit a deep grounder down the third-base line to Carney Lansford, who backhanded it and made a one-bounce throw to first. Ray beat it.

That brought up Joyner, who flied to deep center. Dave Henderson sprinted to the wall, and made a backhanded catch against it.

No damage done, but the A’s had seen enough, bringing on Todd Burns to relieve Moore.

Burns promptly walked Chili Davis on four pitches.

Dante Bichette, a right-handed hitter, was due up next to face Burns, also a right-hander.

Pure theory might dictate using a left-handed pinch-hitter. Pure theory wouldn’t recall that Bichette won a 12-inning game against Minnesota for the Angels Saturday with a three-run homer.

Rader did recall, and Bichette came to the plate.

The count went to 2-0, and the scoreboard flashed “Ring Those Bells.” The Angel fans rattled their rally bells, an Anaheim Stadium giveaway Tuesday whose sound had heretofore been only clatter.

The count went to 3-1. Bichette sent the next pitch to center, sending Henderson sprinting back again. He didn’t have a chance, as the ball cleared the wall perhaps 10 feet to the left of the 404-foot mark in center, tying the score, 5-5.

The fans rang their bells, and the A’s had their bells rung.

It was anybody’s bash again.