Taking Nothing, Parker Homers for Angel Victory

The take sign was on, but Dave Parker didn’t take heed.

“I hit a three-run home run and I get fined $50,” Parker said, with a mock sigh.

There’s little chance the Angels will penalize Parker for not taking Bobby Thigpen’s 3-and-0 pitch. Not after Parker slammed it deep over the center-field fence, giving the Angels a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox Tuesday and giving Jim Abbott the first four-game winning streak of his career.

Parker, who had been booed roundly Monday and again on Tuesday by the 23,040 at Anaheim Stadium, was hitting .176 when he came to bat in the eighth inning Tuesday. Dave Gallagher and Luis Polonia had singled off Scott Radinsky (2-2), but Wally Joyner flied to left--ending his 16-game hitting streak--and Gary Gaetti flied to right against Thigpen. With a few encouraging at-bats behind him, Parker faced Thigpen with a modicum of confidence.

“(Starter Alex Fernandez) struck me out on a changeup, but in my second at-bat I hit one deep to left field, and I thought it would go even deeper,” Parker said. “In that situation (in the eighth), I was just looking for something I could drive. He tried to get me to chase the ball up, but I didn’t go for it. It’s about time I hit one.”

It had been a long time since his last homer--142 at-bats, since he connected off Seattle’s Erik Hanson on April 9 in his first at-bat as an Angel. Although Parker struggled, Abbott (4-4) never ceased to believe in Parker’s abilities.

“He’s a vital part of this team whether he’s hitting or not. He helps the lineup because people don’t want to face him,” Abbott said. “Dave Parker hitting that home run was just great for this team.”

And a great lift to Abbott’s spirits. He had pitched well, but trailed, 2-1.

Ozzie Guillen led off the third inning with a single and stole second. After Tim Raines struck out, Lance Johnson lifted a sinking liner to center field. Gallagher dashed for it and appeared to have caught it, but umpire Jim Evans ruled he had trapped it. Replays showed the ball hop off the tip of his glove and into his palm, a motion Evans might have mistaken for the ball hitting the ground and hopping into the glove.

Guillen scored on the play. When Frank Thomas walked, Johnson took second. He scored on Carlton Fisk’s double down the left-field line.

“It hit the webbing and went right into my palm,” said Gallagher, a former member of the White Sox. “I want to say that he was in position to make the call, but when I looked up and he was making the call ‘Safe,’ it didn’t make me happy. . . . I’m just glad it all worked out.”

The Angels mustered only three hits off Fernandez, two in the fourth inning. That’s when Polonia singled to left, went to second when Joyner walked and scored on Gaetti’s single to center.

They managed a leadoff single by Dave Winfield in the seventh, but Fernandez held them off. Abbott, who frequently was victimized by a lack of offensive support last season, seemed about to experience the same fate, to his teammates’ dismay.

“He was pitching his butt off in a 2-1 game,” said Bryan Harvey, who pitched the ninth inning and earned his 11th save in 11 chances. “He did a heck of a job keeping it at 2-1.”

Parker was overjoyed to be responsible for turning a potential loss into a victory for Abbott.

“He’s pitched extremely well his last four games,” Parker said. “I’m glad I was able to contribute, though I look at it as I contributed for only the second time this year. I’m a big Jim Abbott fan and to be able to contribute to him winning means a lot.”

Winning was ample consolation for Joyner, who grounded out twice and walked in addition to his seventh-inning fly to left. He’s still hitting .379 and leading the league. “I’m always enjoying it,” he said. “We won, didn’t we?”

They did so thanks to Parker. “This could be the thing that gets me back on track,” he said.