He Fuels a Change for Best by Angels

This catch called for more than a pat on the back or a word of praise thrown Max Venable’s way. Recognizing that, Luis Polonia interrupted Venable’s postgame burrito to leave a pile of shiny pennies in front of his startled teammate.

“Seven cents--no, eight cents,” Venable said, smiling. “Hey, I’ll take it.”

In truth, Venable’s diving, backhanded catch of Steve Buechele’s sinking liner on a waterlogged left field in the sixth inning Friday night was priceless. It prevented two Texas runs and helped the Angels hold on for a 4-3 victory, their 11th in their last 14 games and first on a seven-game trip that they hope will propel them back into the American League West chase.

Bert Blyleven lasted 5 2/3 innings in the oppressive humidity after thunderstorms had soaked the area Friday afternoon. The Angel starter improved his record to 4-3, winning in Arlington Stadium for the first time since Sept. 25, 1985, when he was with Minnesota. Blyleven readily shared credit for the victory with Venable, the spare outfielder who never spares on effort.

“That catch was worth a lot more than eight cents,” Blyleven said of Venable’s acrobatic stab, which came after Blyleven had yielded the Rangers’ second run on a home run by Harold Baines and left two runners behind for reliever Willie Fraser. “I’m just the beneficiary of the victory as a pitcher. It was an outstanding catch. The catch was the whole ballgame, right there.”

Venable was involved in every phase of the game, scoring the Angels’ first run in the first on a single, a stolen base, a groundout and a wild pitch by Texas starter Bobby Witt (2-7). After the Angels scored twice in the fifth, once on another wild pitch by Witt and again on an run-scoring single by Wally Joyner, Venable drove in what proved to be the decisive run in the sixth with a single to right, his 12th hit in his last 23 at-bats since May 10.

“I just come every day and try to do my best,” said Venable, who had never faced the Rangers before Friday. “I don’t even worry if I’m in the lineup or not.”

He more than justified his place in the lineup Friday. “I got there and I knew I had a chance,” said Venable, who caught the ball an instant before hitting the grass and sending up a sheet of water. “It was just instinct. I didn’t even think about diving for the ball--I just dived.”

Seeing Venable hold up his glove with the ball nestled safely inside was just what Manager Doug Rader needed. “That was as fine a play as you’ll ever see under those circumstances, especially,” Rader said. “I don’t know what else to say about him I haven’t said in the last week. He just played great. He stole a base, drove in a big run, saved a couple of runs--he’s doing a great job.”

His feats make Rader’s job of choosing three outfielders from a pool of six ever more difficult, but it’s a complication Rader doesn’t mind in this case. “There’s a lot of people in the equation, and Max certainly deserves to be one of them,” he said.

The equation balanced properly for the Angels Friday because of Venable and Blyleven and despite spotty relief work. Mark Eichhorn pitched the final two innings to earn his 10th save of the season, matching the career high he set in 1986 with Toronto. But it didn’t come easily. The Rangers opened the eighth against Scott Bailes with infield hits by Ruben Sierra and Julio Franco, who were advanced by pinch-hitter Mike Stanley. Sierra scored on a wild pitch to Gary Pettis after Eichhorn hit pinch-hitter Jack Daugherty with a pitch. However, Eichhorn settled down to strike out Pettis and end the inning.

“The bottom line is that we won. It was a very difficult game,” Rader said.

Blyleven believes it could be the springboard to greater success. “What allowed us to win 91 games last year was our defense and we played great defense tonight,” said the 39-year-old right-hander, whose strikeout of Jeff Huson in the first was the 3,600th of his career. Blyleven finished with two strikeouts to move within 39 of Tom Seaver, third on the all-time strikeout list.

“I think we’re on a roll,” Blyleven added. “Our main goal is to get back to .500--we’re one game away (24-25) and once we get there, hopefully we can have a long winning streak and get back in the race. We hit a cold spell the first month. Oakland is Oakland, Chicago and Minnesota are playing well, we know that. We have to get back to playing one game at a time. You win by pitching and defense, and our defense did the job tonight.”

Whether Venable will get another chance tonight to do his job is unclear, but he has long since learned to take whatever comes and make the best of it.

“It’s fun when you’re going well,” he said, “but I’m sure some time during the year I’m going to stink it up. I just come each day and try to do my best.”

Angel Notes

Nolan Ryan, on the disabled list because of back spasms, threw 92 pitches in a simulated game Friday. However, Ranger Manager Bobby Valentine said the all-time strikeout leader isn’t ready to pitch in a real game.

Angel shortstop Dick Schofield had two hits for triple-A Edmonton Thursday in five innings and was to play five again Friday and seven innings today. Schofield, who hasn’t played this season because of a strained hamstring, could be in the Angels’ lineup within a week.

The Angels’ complaint over the Yankees’ conduct after the Dave Winfield-Mike Witt trade is being reviewed by Commissioner Fay Vincent.