White Sox Make Angels’ Comeback a Waste of Energy

Bert Blyleven came undone, and the Angels looked done for.

The White Sox scored seven runs in the sixth inning Tuesday at Anaheim Stadium--five of them off Blyleven, whose final act was to give up a three-run homer to Ivan Calderon.

The Angels, who once trailed by eight runs, scored six in the seventh, and it was a ballgame for those remaining from the crowd of 28,401.

The Angels tied the score with a run in the eighth--only to see the White Sox win in the ninth, 11-9, scoring two runs on four hits

Ozzie Guillen’s run-scoring single to right off Mark Eichhorn drove in Ron Karkovice with the tie-breaking run. Another run scored on Lance Johnson’s bunt single to first.

The Angels had tied the game in the eighth on Luis Polonia’s sacrifice to shallow left, which scored Dante Bichette when Dave Gallagher’s throw couldn’t get him.

The 17 hits and 11 and runs were season highs for the White Sox.

By the time the White Sox sixth was done, the Angels trailed by eight runs.

That much was remarkable. That they brought the winning run to the plate in the seventh was just short of incredible.

They got one run back on Joyner’s homer in the sixth.

They led off the seventh with back-to-back singles by Chili Davis and John Orton, who had replaced Lance Parrish at catcher in the inning.

That was enough to chase Adam Peterson. Donn Pall came on, and gave up a run-scoring single to Bichette.

Pall got Jack Howell to fly out, but walked Dick Schofield. Polonia forced Schofield at second with a grounder for the second out, but Orton scored on the play. Kent Anderson, in the game as a replacement at second base, reached safely when his sharply hit grounder bounced high and away off the glove of shortstop Guillen for an error, with Bichette scoring and Polonia taking third.

Frank Edwards came on in relief, and walked Joyner, loading the bases. Max Venable, another of the Angels’ mid-game replacements, worked to a full count and walked, forcing in Polonia.

The White Sox brought Scott Radinsky to the mound, and Davis, batting for the second time in the inning, sent him back off it with a two-run single to center that brought the Angels to within 9-8.

Barry Jones came on to pitch--the fifth White Sox pitcher of the inning--and got Orton to strike out.

The five White Sox pitchers were one short of the major league record of six, set by Oakland Sept. 23, 1983, against Cleveland.

Blyleven, trying for his sixth victory in his past seven starts, gave up a solo homer to Karkovice in the second, and a run in the third on a walk and a double by Calderon.

But in the sixth, all semblance of order disappeared. Karkovice, who had singled, scored on Sammy Sosa’s triple to right. Johnson singled, driving in Sosa. Robin Ventura singled, and then came Calderon’s three-run homer.

Scott Bailes came on to replace Blyleven, and got Dan Pasqua to ground to first base. But Joyner missed the ground ball, with Pasqua reaching on the two-out error as the ball rolled behind Joyner.

It proved an expensive mistake. Moments later, Ron Kittle hit Bailes’ first pitch deep into the left field stands for a two-run homer that should have been a solo homer. Both runs were unearned.

Willie Fraser replaced Bailes and walked Scott Fletcher before getting the third out on a foul pop from the 11th batter of the inning. The Angels were out of the inning, but they were also out of the game--or so it seemed.

The Angels, shut out by the White Sox in the first game of the series Monday, were shut out for the first four innings Tuesday.

It seemed something of a case of ineffective distribution: The Angels had scored many more than they needed in a 10-2 victory Sunday over Detroit. But after 14 innings without scoring against the White Sox, Bichette broke through with his eighth home run of the season, only his first since June 3.

Bichette, reduced to part-time status since the acquisition of Dave Winfield, was starting in center field for the third game in a row, replacing Devon White, who is bothered by a strained right rib cage. Bichette, once the team leader in average, had only one hit in his past 27 at-bats and was batting only .246 before lofting Adam Peterson’s pitch to dead-center, a few yards to the left of the 404-foot sign.

Angel Notes

Former Dodger and Angel Jerry Reuss, released by Houston’s triple-A Tucson team May 14, was in a White Sox uniform Tuesday, saying he can still pitch in the major leagues. “If I thought I was finished, I’d say so,” said Reuss, 41, who worked out with the team with the permission of Manager Jeff Torborg. Reuss, who last pitched in the majors with Milwaukee last season, had a spring-training tryout with the White Sox as a non-roster invitee, and worked as a reliever with Houston’s double-A and triple-A teams before his release. He said he has talked with two or three teams, including the Dodgers, for whom he threw a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on June 27, 1980. “Everybody is looking for a 25- or 30-year-old pitcher who’s going to give them a complete game, an ERA under three, throw 90 miles an hour and have five or 10 good years left,” said Reuss, whose career record is 220-191 in 21 seasons.

Devon White, bothered by a strained right rib cage, was not in the lineup for the third consecutive day. X-rays of the ribs were negative, trainer Ned Bergert said. White’s name has resurfaced in trade rumors, this time in published reports out of Houston of a possible trade with the Astros for second baseman Bill Doran. Pitchers Willie Fraser and Mike Fetters also have been mentioned.

General Manager Mike Port made no report of the hearing Monday in New York on the Angels’ complaint against the Yankees in the Witt-Dave Winfield trade. The hearing lasted a little more than two hours, and a decision is expected “shortly,” a spokesman for the commissioner’s office said.

Bert Blyleven was elected as the Angels’ representative to the Major League Baseball Players Assn., replacing Mike Witt. Blyleven has been the acting player rep since Witt was traded to the New York Yankees in May. Wally Joyner is the alternate.