Blyleven Wins; Hayes Loses Out

Bert Blyleven continues to conquer age and infirmity, but Von Hayes lost his battle with time and Tim Salmon.

Blyleven, 41, combined with three relief pitchers on a six-hitter Thursday night to lead the Angels to a 2-0 victory before 32,879 at Fenway Park, his first victory in Boston since June 21, 1983. His 286th victory was his third in succession, improving his record to 7-5 since his return from rotator cuff surgery.

“Age has not really been a factor as far as how I feel,” Blyleven (7-5) said after his 6 1/3-inning, three-hit performance. “My arm strength is just going to get better every time I go out there.”

Hayes, with a .225 batting average, four home runs and 29 runs batted in in 94 games, was put on waivers after the game to open a roster spot for Salmon.

Acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies last December for pitcher Kyle Abbott and outfielder Ruben Amaro Jr., Hayes, 33, had two homers and eight RBIs in his first 11 games but never again approached that pace. He had no RBIs between April 17 and May 24 and went from May 24 until July 31 between his third and fourth homers.

On a team desperate for production and veteran leadership, Hayes’ numbers simply didn’t suffice.

The Angels turn to Salmon, who hit .347 for triple-A Edmonton and led the Pacific Coast with 29 homers and 105 RBIs in 118 games. Salmon will start in right field tonight at New York and probably will bat fifth.

“He’s not here to be the California Angels’ savior and put us in first place,” interim Manager John Wathan said. “I think it’s a good situation now because it gives him six or seven weeks in the big leagues, and he can get his feet wet. He certainly has nothing more to prove in Edmonton. Recently a lot of teams have been pitching around him, and still he’s been able to put up good numbers.”

Hayes cited a sprained right wrist and tendinitis in that wrist as underlying causes for his disappointing season. Still, he didn’t expect the news he received after Thursday’s game.

“I didn’t really see it coming,” said Hayes, whose career average has dropped to .267. “When you’ve never been in a situation like this before, you can’t prepare for it. For 11-plus years, it’s always been the other guy.

“It’s regretful. I don’t know any other words for it. . . . I got off to a good start, but I just couldn’t keep it going. I developed some bad habits and got into situations where I wanted to go out there and work my tail off to get out of those habits, but I was dealing with some injuries that were not allowing me to do that.”

Hayes, who seemed teary-eyed as he thanked the Angels and bade farewell to his teammates, said he hopes to catch on with a National League team.

“It’s a more familiar league, and if I’m going to be a role player in the future, the AL is not the place,” he said. “So many changes in the course of the game in the NL make it more interesting for a role player. If you don’t start games in this league, there’s an 80% chance you’re not going to get in there.”

Blyleven sympathized with Hayes.

“You feel sad for Von Hayes because he didn’t want to have the year he had and you know the frustration he went through,” Blyleven said. “It’s part of the game. It comes to everybody sooner or later. Believe it or not, one day even I might retire. Who knows? But I doubt it.”

That day will be postponed as long as he can pitch as he did Thursday. He walked only one--Tom Brunansky, the last batter he faced in the seventh inning--and struck out two for a total of 3,667, third all-time. Scott Bailes and Chuck Crim set up Joe Grahe for the save in the ninth inning, Grahe’s 16th save in 17 chances.

The Angels scored twice against Danny Darwin (6-6) in the second inning, on a walk to Chad Curtis, a double by Lee Stevens and a single by Gary DiSarcina.

“John just turned it over to the bullpen and they did a great job,” said Blyleven, who threw 65 pitches. “In a game like today, when it’s 2-0, I don’t want to make a mistake to (Mo) Vaughn (who followed Brunansky in the batting order) and cost us the game. . . . Ten years ago, no way I would have come out with a shutout going. Now I have to and I have to look at the way the game is going.”

DiSarcina said he was sorry to see Hayes go but eager to see Salmon arrive.

“We’re going to miss Von,” he said. “He was a veteran and he might not have been producing, but he was a very positive influence. I learned a lot sitting next to him on the bench.

“Tim Salmon has been putting up astronomical numbers and we’ve got to start looking forward to the future. He’s obviously going to try to win a job next spring, and maybe this will be his stepping stone to try to get some experience and confidence.”