Langston’s Bad Throw Costs Angels in 4-2 Loss at Boston

He may have a golden arm, but Mark Langston didn’t have a golden glove Tuesday night.

Although he has twice won Gold Gloves for his fielding, Langston, for the second consecutive game, committed a throwing error that undermined his cause.

Last week, the Angel left-hander escaped defeat after making an errant pickoff throw against Oakland, but this time Roger Clemens and the Red Sox gave him no margin for error. Boston won, 4-2, on a chilly night at Fenway Park.

“It was such a simple play,” Langston said softly. “I still can’t believe it happened. You just don’t have that luxury in a game like this.”

Of all the throws Langston made--and the three-time American League strikeout leader made many fine ones, matching Clemens strikeout for strikeout through five innings--the one bad throw proved his downfall. His wild toss to second on Wade Boggs’ sixth-inning bunt was the edge the Red Sox needed. They ended up scoring three times and holding off a ninth-inning Angel rally.

Clemens, who left two-thirds of an inning short of pitching a complete game in his 99th career victory, understood Langston’s disappointment. Each had looked forward to Tuesday’s matchup, and neither wanted to see it decided on a mistake.

“You hope it’s going to come down to a pitching duel, but sometimes it’s a blowout and you’re gone by the third inning,” said Clemens, who retired 14 consecutive Angels and 20 of 21 until Claudell Washington’s ninth-inning single. “Tonight, Mark pitched extremely well. A couple of years ago, I made three errors and two of those cost me ballgames. Mark was his own worst enemy when he threw that ball away, and we were able to capitalize.”

The Angels couldn’t capitalize on Wally Joyner’s two-out double in the first inning or Max Venable’s two-out single in the second, hits collected while Clemens (4-0) was trying to burn off excess energy that was causing his pitches to rise. To expend that energy, he climbed onto an exercise device between innings. He then went out and exhausted the Angels by striking them out eight times, although by his own count, he threw only 10 or 15 good, hard fastballs.

“He had an excellent changeup tonight, and that was the key to his success,” said Washington, who took into the game a .333 career average against Clemens. “People think about his fastball, so when he throws that changeup, it’s hard to make the adjustment after seeing a pitch that’s so overpowering. That’s why he was so effective--he had two pitches working and on occasion he’d throw in a slider.”

Langston threw an inadvertent slip pitch on that pivotal sixth-inning play. Marty Barrett led off with a single to right, only the third Boston hit. Boggs bunted the ball back to Langston, whose throw to shortstop Donnie Hill covering second flew into center field. Jody Reed’s double scored Barrett, and after two outs and a walk to Dwight Evans, Langston yielded a two-run single to Tony Pena for the second and third runs.

The Red Sox scored another run off Bryan Harvey in the eighth, but the damage had already been done.

“I felt I was pretty much in control (until the error). I was getting ahead of hitters,” said Langston (1-1). “It was a simple play and I messed up. I’ve got to make pitches after that, and I didn’t. When you go against guys like Clemens, you can’t afford mistakes like that. The ball slipped out of my hand. I was thinking we had a chance at a double play and when I went to throw, it sailed right out of my hand. . . . “Out on the mound, you have to put it out of your mind and think it’s over and stay aggressive. I threw a changeup to Jody Reed and he got a hit. It (the error) will probably pop in my mind. It was a simple play.”

The Angels simply were unable to dent Clemens until the ninth, when Washington and Joyner got back-to-back singles. Rob Murphy gave up a run-scoring single to Chili Davis and struck out Jack Howell before Johnny Ray’s first hit from the right side of the plate scored Joyner. Jeff Reardon finished by getting Dante Bichette to ground into a force play, Reardon’s first save of the season.

“He’s a fine pitcher, no question,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said of Clemens. “We had a chance to get him early and we didn’t. . . . All three runs (in the sixth) were unearned. That’s the shame of it. You would have liked to see it come to a little bit different end or decision. Both people need to be commended. We just made a bad throw and that was unfortunate.”

“It was close,” Washington said, “but no cigar.”

No victory, either. Just a 1-3 record so far on this 13-game trip and losses in five of their last six.

Angel Notes

Reliever Greg Minton will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow Thursday to remove five major bone chips and one loose piece of bone. The procedure, which is expected to idle him four to six weeks, will be performed by team physician Lewis Yocum at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood.

Catcher Bill Schroeder has chosen not to have surgery on his arthritic right elbow, but his ability to play at top caliber is in doubt. Trainer Ned Bergert said that without surgery Schroeder might not have much velocity on his throws, making it “a baseball decision, not a medical decision” as to whether he can continue to play in his current condition. Schroeder is on the disabled list and is still several weeks away from being able to play, Bergert said.

Chuck Finley, the Angels’ most consistent and successful (3-0) starter, will have a precautionary examination of his left arm today done by Dr. Arthur Pappas, the Red Sox medical director. Finley said he feels “twinges” with everyday movements but no pain when he pitches.