Hits Finally Bounce Angels’ Way in an 8-6 Victory Over the Twins

Baseballs died on the third base line Wednesday night at Anaheim Stadium.

And they hopped out of gloves with alarming variety.

Strange happenings.

The Angels and Twins combined to hit nine infield singles in the Angels’ 8-6 victory, and six of those hits rolled off the bag or settled slowly in the dirt near third base.

The Angels committed four errors.

“I’m sorry I’m not real flowery about that game,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “It wasn’t a work of art.”

For the Angels, it was at least a victory. The Angels will be mathematically eliminated by the next Oakland victory or Angel loss.

The Twins, already eliminated, had no solace.

“There were some ugly hits by both ballclubs in this game,” Minnesota Manager Tom Kelly said. “It was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it. We made some horrible plays in this game today.”

Neither team ever had more than a two-run lead. And this game, played before 21,480, was almost unrelenting in its quirkiness.

In the fifth inning, Dave Winfield seemed to snag a fly ball in right field, but it was ruled no-catch, spurring the Twins’ two-run inning that gave them a 3-3 tie.

But later the ball bounced Winfield’s way, giving him an infield hit. That began an inning that ended with the Angels taking a 7-5 lead in the sixth.

In between, Devon White drove in three runs, on a home run and a two-run single.

“Peace of mind,” said White, who entered the game batting .214 but went three for four.

The fifth-inning foibles began as the Angels held a 3-1 lead with two out and a runner on base. Minnesota’s Nelson Liriano drove a ball to deep right. Winfield gloved it, bobbled it and struggled for control as he neared the fence. Finally, he lifted the ball to signal a catch. But first base umpire Dan Morrison ruled Winfield had trapped the ball against the fence, although it appeared in replays that Winfield kept his glove between the ball and the fence.

Liriano was credited with a triple, which was hotly disputed by Winfield and Rader, and Liriano scored on Gary Gaetti’s subsequent single, making it 3-3.

“I don’t think (the umpire) was in good position to see,” Winfield said. “As long as we won the game. . . . It was a costly mistake at that point.”

White put the Angels ahead again, 4-3, in the bottom of the inning with his 11th homer.

Then, the Twins regained the lead in the sixth, scoring two runs--one unearned--on three hits and Dante Bichette’s fielding error in left field. Bichette allowed Shane Mack to score from second by letting Junior Ortiz’s single roll under his glove.

Once again, the Angels recovered, this time with a three-run sixth inning started by Winfield’s infield single to third.

It was Winfield’s bit of redemption after the disallowed catch. Bichette followed with another of the odd third base singles, and Lee Stevens loaded the bases with a single to left. Winfield scored on Jack Howell’s groundout, and White delivered a two-run single that gave the Angels a 7-5 lead.

Minnesota made it 7-6 in the seventh on Mack’s run-scoring single.

Johnny Ray’s home run in the seventh inning, his fourth of the season and first since July 18, gave the Angels an 8-6 lead.

Joe Grahe (2-3), the Angel starter and winner, a rookie with only five previous major league starts to his name, started shakily. After getting the first two outs of the game, he loaded the bases on two singles and a hit batter, and forced in the first run of the game by walking Mack on five pitches.

There was a special smattering of applause when Minnesota starter Larry Casian was announced. Casian, who played at Lakewood High School and Cal State Fullerton, was making his first major league start, and had the good fortune to do it in front of friends and family.

The applause was not in Casian’s favor once he began pitching, however. He gave up four consecutive singles, allowing one run to score on Brian Downing’s line drive to left, a second on a bases-loaded passed ball, and a third on Stevens’ sacrifice fly.

Both rookie pitchers settled down over the next few innings.

Casian, a left-hander, didn’t allow another hit until White homered. But when the Twins’ starter was replaced after five innings, he had given up four runs, three of them earned, on six hits.

Grahe held the Twins until the fifth, not allowing a hit after the first until Pedro Munoz hit a two-out single in the fifth.

Then came Liriano’s triple on the ball Winfield claimed to have caught. Grahe left after six innings having allowed five runs, four earned, on nine hits.

After two innings of middle relief from Willie Fraser, Bryan Harvey came on to earn his 22nd save.

Angel Notes

Luis Polonia leads the Angels with a .325 batting average and six triples. He improved his career average to .300 with his three-for-five performance Tuesday. No other active regular was batting above .278 entering Wednesday’s game. . . . Chili Davis (sore back) was available only to pinch-hit. Max Venable, who sprained his right ankle while helping Mike Fetters with some moving, is out for five to seven days.