Angels and Lewis Give Way to Orioles’ Power Surge, 7-0

The differences between pitching in triple A and in the big leagues extend beyond steak dinners instead of fast-food hamburgers and charter flights instead of buses.

Angel right-hander Scott Lewis is discovering that while he might have been able to ease up on a hitter or two in the minors, there’s no such respite in a major league lineup.

That lesson was pounded home Monday night, when the Orioles hit three home runs off him and four overall in a 7-0 rout of the Angels before a crowd of 19,972 at Anaheim Stadium.

“You can’t make mistakes here, and you’re foolish if you think you can,” said Lewis, who has been unable to shut out an opponent for the first three innings in any of his five starts and has given up six home runs.

“You can’t overpower people. A lot of times you brain-lock out there and forget what you have to do. It’s a matter of being under control and getting the ball to the area where it’s supposed to be.

“They’re all good hitters here, one through nine (in the batting order). Every once in a while you’re going to get a defensive player who’s not that much of a threat with the bat, but that shouldn’t change your intensity. When the little guys start hurting you, then the big guys can come up and finish it off.”

Craig Worthington, who took a .200 average into Monday’s game, hit a two-run shot in the third and former Dodger Mike Devereaux homered with no one on base for a quick 3-0 lead.

Tim Hulett, a .167 hitter, homered to lead off the fifth. It was only his third hit this season, but two are homers.

Lewis (1-2) had been relieved by Floyd Bannister by the time Cal Ripken connected for a home run to center with two out in the inning that made it 5-0.

Ripken’s homer also ended a streak of 25 consecutive homerless innings by the Angels’ bullpen and was only the second surrendered by the relievers in 53 1/3 innings.

The Orioles hit six home runs in splitting the four-game series, three more than they hit in six games at Anaheim Stadium last season.

Baltimore scored twice in the ninth off Bannister, more than enough of a cushion for right-hander Jose Mesa (3-3). He held the Angels to seven hits as they lost for the ninth time in 13 games and fell into a fifth-place tie.

“If I get that kind of support, I try to go right at them and throw everything for strikes,” said Mesa, who had received only 13 runs in his previous five starts. “Thank God, they hit a lot of grounders.”

The Angels also did little with their few scoring chances, such as when they loaded the bases with two out in the fifth. Luis Sojo lined out to left to end that threat, the last they mustered.

Dave Parker and Dave Winfield each went 0 for 4 as the Angels fell below .500 (12-13).

The failure of the Angels’ power hitters to drive in runs didn’t go unnoticed by Manager Doug Rader.

“It’s not frustrating, it’s the knowledge that if the key components don’t produce, there’s not a real good chance of putting together a real good streak,” Rader said. “When the guys in the middle start hitting on all eight cylinders, we’ll go on a streak.”