Far-Out Night for Winfield : Angels: He hits three homers, plus double and single, in 15-9 victory over Twins.

Dave Winfield had a very good month Saturday.

Playing across the Mississippi River from his hometown of St. Paul, Winfield hit home runs in his first three at-bats, the first three home run night of his 18-year major league career.

Still, that was far from all he did in the Angels’ 15-9 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

While about 15 friends and relatives watched in the Metrodome crowd of 32,782, the 39-year-old outfielder followed his home runs with a double and a single, matching his career high of six runs batted in in a game. He eclipsed by one his home run and RBI production for all of last April, when he was struggling to show the New York Yankees he had something left after back surgery stole a year from his career.

“That was the month I was finished,” Winfield said with a smile Saturday.

He began his assault on the Twins’ pitching staff with a two-run shot against Mark Guthrie that landed 443 feet from home plate in the left-field stands. He continued it with a 383-foot drive against Guthrie in the third, giving the Angels a 6-2 lead, and victimized Larry Casian for his third, a 374-foot drive to left in the fifth.

Although shortest in distance, that home run brought him the biggest tribute from the crowd. The fans, who had thrown back his previous two home run balls, kept the third, aware of the spectacle they were witnessing.

“It was quite a thrill for me to get three,” said Winfield, a University of Minnesota alumnus. “Once I got two, I was going for three. I’ve driven in six runs before (four times), had five hits before. Put it all together and the team wins, and it’s the best night I’ve had.”

Winfield acknowledged that he was swinging for a fourth home run in the sixth, but settled for a double. He tried bunting in the eighth--”I was just playing with them,” he said--and hit into a force play, and singled in the ninth against Gary Wayne in his final at-bat. He received a warm ovation when Max Venable came in to run for him.

“He didn’t throw hard enough to hit a home run,” Winfield said of Wayne. “I went for it, but the ball didn’t reach the plate. There was a man on base, and it was just a matter of trying to drive in a run.”

The Angels had 21 hits--four by Gary Gaetti--including 10 extra-base hits. Meanwhile, however, Scott Lewis, Jeff Robinson and Scott Bailes combined to set an American League record and tie a major league record by making six wild pitches. Lewis (two), Robinson (three) and Bailes (one) broke the AL record of five set Sept. 27, 1912, by Detroit Tiger pitcher Charles Wheatley, and matched a feat accomplished three times in the National League.

Bailes, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings, was declared the winner at the discretion of the official scorer. Undoubtedly, it was a difficult decision.

Bailes, who claimed he hadn’t had a victory in about three years and didn’t recall the two he had earned last season, made light of the pitchers’ collaboration on the dubious record.

“Harv didn’t do his job,” Bailes said of Bryan Harvey, who got through the ninth without incident. “He makes one wild pitch and we could all be in the Hall of Fame.”

Lewis, in the third start of his career, seemed to recover his equilibrium after he gave up a first-inning home run to Kirby Puckett. He had an 8-2 lead after Winfield hit his third home run, but was unable to hold the Twins in the fifth and gave up an RBI double to Greg Gagne and run-scoring singles to Dan Gladden and Chuck Knoblauch before being relieved by Cliff Young.

The left-hander against left-hander strategy didn’t pay off, as Kent Hrbek hit a two-run homer on the first pitch Young threw, trimming the Angels’ lead to 8-7.

“You’ve got to give the Twins a lot of credit,” said Winfield, whose sixth-inning double came in the midst of a four-run flurry that padded the Angels’ lead to 12-7. “We dug a hole for them and kicked them in, but we never put the dirt on them.”

Robinson came in to pitch the sixth and was guilty of three wild pitches as Minnesota scored twice to pull to 12-9.

“It was kind of an ugly game,” Bailes said. “It feels good to win this one. It was great watching Dave. I’ve seen Joe Carter hit three in a game on two different occasions (when Carter and Bailes played for Cleveland) but it was three for four or three for five, not three for three. Even the two times Dave didn’t get a hit, he got on base.

“It was one of the best displays I’ve ever seen by anyone.”

Left fielder Dave Gallagher said he was so impressed, he felt compelled to shake Winfield’s hand after the game and tell him, “I’m happy just to be a part of this, to take part in this game.”’

Taking part in a World Series is Winfield’s goal. Satisfied as he was with his performance--which made him the active home run leader at 381, the 28th highest total in history--he said he cares only about how much he helps the Angels in the AL West.

“I’ve played a long time and done a lot of good things individually, but I’d like to go all the way,” said Winfield, whose three home runs tied a club record shared by seven players. He also set a club record for total bases of 15, beating Fred Patek’s 14 June 20, 1980, in Boston.

“I’m not looking for a storybook thing, ‘Winfield takes charge.’ I just want to be part of it, of us winning.”

THREE-HOMER ANGELS

Dave Winfield--at Minnesota, April 13, 1991.

Wally Joyner--vs. Cleveland, Oct. 3, 1987.

Reggie Jackson--vs. K.C., Sept. 18, 1986.

Doug DeCinces--vs. Minnesota, Aug. 3, 1982; at Seattle, Aug. 8, 1982.

Fred Patek--at Boston, June 20, 1980.

Carney Lansford--at Cleveland, Sept. 1, 1979.

Lee Stanton--at Baltimore, July 10, 1973.

Lee Thomas--at K.C., Sept. 5, 1961.