Chance to Start Isn’t Wasted by Schroeder

Bill Schroeder doesn’t lament his limited playing time, not after a sore elbow kept him on the disabled list until July 2 and nearly convinced him his time was up as a major league catcher.

“I don’t feel frustrated at all,” Schroeder said Sunday after hitting two home runs and guiding Jim Abbott through seven strong innings in the Angels’ 6-2 victory over Seattle at the Kingdome.

“I’m happy to be in the position I am,” Schroeder said. “A month and a half ago, I never thought I’d be in this position. I don’t feel frustrated--I feel pretty lucky.”

For Schroeder, the satisfaction of playing so impressively ran deep.

“At this point of my career, that’s my role (catching behind Lance Parrish) and I’m happy with it,” said Schroeder, who hit a fastball off Seattle starter Matt Young (5-11) that barely cleared the right field fence in the fourth inning to give the Angels a 3-1 lead, and who provided the fifth run with a drive off Gene Harris in the eighth.

“Six weeks ago, two months ago I didn’t think I’d be able to even do this. I’m tickled to death to be able to go out there.”

Abbott (7-9) was glad to have Schroeder as his mentor. Led by Schroeder to use his slider and curveball more than he might have been inclined to on his own, Abbott was in command throughout and showed poise in escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and a second-and-third, one-out situation in the sixth.

“I thought Bill had a great game. He called a great game, and the fact that he got two home runs was a bonus,” said Abbott, who walked four and struck out three. “He’s a solid catcher, and I’m real comfortable working with him. We probably hadn’t worked together in a long time, but he was really solid.”

He was better than that, according to Manager Doug Rader. “The work he did behind the plate was extremely good,” Rader said. “Abbie used all his pitches, and Bill blocked the ball well. I don’t take him for granted. A guy may have done the job 1,000 times, but when he does it the 1,001st, you’ve got to remember to be grateful for it.”

Abbott got single runs in the first, third and fourth innings.

In the first, Brian Downing and Donnie Hill walked and Downing scored when first baseman Pete O’Brien couldn’t handle Dave Winfield’s shot.

Hill scored from second base in the third inning when Harold Reynolds misplayed a double-play ball hit by Winfield, throwing wildly to first.

“I know they’ve been struggling scoring runs,” Young said. “Pete O’Brien makes that play 99 out of 100 times. The ball just took a funny hop. And in the third, Winfield hit a routine double-play ball that could easily have gotten us out of the inning. These things happen.”

Schroeder’s home run in the fourth barely cleared the fence, to Schroeder’s surprise.

“I never saw it because of the lights,” said Schroeder, whose only other home run this season was in the Angels’ 20-7 humiliation July 8 at Milwaukee. “I was jogging to first. It’s a good thing it went out, because I would have been standing on first. The second one was the only one I knew was out as soon as I hit it.”

Dante Bichette preceded Schroeder with a home run to left field, his 13th of the season, and the Angels added another run in the ninth inning on a walk to Downing, a double by Hill, an intentional walk to White and Winfield’s fielder’s choice.

“That’s the way we used to play the game . . . ,” before the proliferation of those rotisserie leagues,” Downing said of the Angels’ opportunistic innings. “It kind of gets lost in the shuffle. If you make a pitcher throw enough pitches to you over and over, it can make a difference.”

Abbott was sharp and confident. He had yielded a run in the third inning on a walk, Jeffrey Leonard’s single and Alvin Davis’ sacrifice fly, but the game hinged on Abbott’s mastery in the sixth inning. With Davis on third base and Edgar Martinez on second, Abbott threw six consecutive sliders to strike out David Valle and get Omar Vizquel to fly to center and preserve a 3-1 lead.

“I was more worried about Vizquel hitting something over somebody’s head,” Schroeder said. “I had talked to Lance a lot about what he had been doing (with Abbott’s repertoire), and he said they’d been going with curveballs and changeups and that’s basically what we were doing. He was throwing the ball hard and he had a real good slider and we used six sliders for two outs.”

While Schroeder was sidelined because of the surgery he underwent last September, he never counted himself out. “I’m healthy and my arm feels good, better than all of last year,” he said. “I want to get the opportunity at some point to catch a few days in a row and prove I can do it. . . . I’m not saying my arm feels 100%, but I’m able to do what I have to do every day.”

Angel Notes

Bryan Harvey relieved Jim Abbott in the eighth inning after a single by Jeffrey Leonard and a double by Alvin Davis and gave up a sacrifice fly to Scott Bradley that scored the Mariners’ final run. Harvey allowed one hit over two innings to earn his 12th save, one behind club leader Mark Eichhorn.

Pitcher Bert Blyleven, who shaved his beard after losing at Oakland last Wednesday, is growing it back because of popular demand. His teammates’ demand, that is. “They said, ‘Cover that face!’ ” Blyleven said.

Outfielder Dave Winfield, a native of St. Paul, Minn., will participate in the groundbreaking of a $5.5 million indoor softball facility in the Twin Cities suburb of Lino Lakes Tuesday. Winfield is a consultant and adviser to the group funding the venture, Inside Sports, Inc. Winfield, who still has a home in the Twin Cities, today will play host to a lunch for his Angel teammates and several of his relatives.