Langston’s Two-Hitter Beats Ryan

The crowd’s roar swelled, drawing Nolan Ryan out of the Rangers’ dugout for one last wave--perhaps his last as an active player--to the fans he entertained and thrilled at Anaheim Stadium over the years.

“The fans have always treated me well here. It was a special night,” Ryan said. “They appreciated a good effort.”

Ryan’s effort against the Angels Wednesday was good, but not good enough to surpass a superb effort by Mark Langston. Drawing motivation from a crowd intent on seeing Ryan win one last time, Langston pitched a two-hitter in blanking Texas, 3-0.

Langston (7-4) struck out seven in becoming the first Angel pitcher to record consecutive complete-game shutouts since Ken Forsch on June 1 and June 6, 1981. Ryan (0-3) struck out eight in eight innings, increasing his career total to 5,570, but went winless for the 11th time this season and 13th in succession since last Sept. 25.

“I just pitched well, I’m just in a situation where things aren’t going right,” said Ryan, who was serenaded with cheers by the crowd of 37,135 during his warm-ups and received a standing ovation as he walked from the bullpen to the dugout.

“I have to ride it out,” added Ryan, whose drought matches the longest of his career and leaves him tied for 13th place on the career victory list at 314. “If I didn’t think I was pitching well, I’d be more concerned.”

He performed erratically in the first inning, failing to cover first base on a grounder by Junior Felix and unleashing a wild pitch that scored Von Hayes with the Angels’ first run. Felix, who moved to second on the wild pitch, scored on Hubie Brooks’ single to left.

“Basically I beat myself in the first inning,” said Ryan, who retired 15 consecutive batters after Brooks’ single. “It was one of those games where we didn’t have any room for error and we gave up two runs in that inning.”

Langston, unfazed by the attention focused on Ryan, plowed through the Rangers’ lineup on the strength of a snapping slider and a fastball he was able to spot precisely.

“If anything, we were more fired up for this,” catcher John Orton said. “He really concentrated.”

Langston said he expected the crowd to favor Ryan, just as he himself recognized the magnitude of Ryan’s accomplishments.

“I knew going out there tonight it was going to be like this,” he said. “But I think we played well. I can’t say I did this alone. We did a lot of things right early, got a couple of double plays that picked me up. I’m shocked.”

Seeing Felix raise his glove and display the ball on Juan Gonzalez’s fly to deep center sent Langston leaping skyward in excitement. That the spectacular play ended the game made it that much more exhilarating for Langston, who has 16 career shutouts.

“I can’t imagine a better ending,” Langston said after the Angels’ sixth victory in seven games. “That really fired me up.”

He was so excited, he didn’t mind that Felix threw the ball into the crowd after making the catch.

“I didn’t care,” he said, smiling, “as long as that ball stayed in the ballpark. As long as he caught it, he could do anything with it later, throw it in the crowd or whatever.”

Merely being in the same ballpark with Ryan sparked the Angels’ competitive drive. “I didn’t mind that they cheered for Nolan Ryan. He’s a legend,” said Felix, whose first-inning grounder took a late, high hop that forced first baseman Russ McGinnis to hesitate before fielding the ball and surprised Ryan. Von Hayes, who had singled and stolen second, easily went to third; both moved up when Ryan overthrew an 0-and-2 curve to Brooks.

“Von Hayes went two for four: two hits, two strikeouts,” Felix added. “The first time, I get a base hit, the second time I strike out. Then you can see at the end when Von Hayes strikes out (to end the eighth) the crowd cheers. That motivates you to play hard.”

Luis Polonia, who scored the third run in the eighth after he grounded into a force play, stole second and came home on Rene Gonzales’ single, also forgave the fans for forsaking the Angels while Ryan pitched his first complete game since June 11, 1991 and moved into eighth place on the career innings-pitched list at 5,217.

“It was exciting to see Nolan up there and exciting to beat Nolan Ryan,” Polonia said. “I didn’t do anything in the game, but it was fun to play in. I respect the fans for rooting for him. The guy’s amazing.”