Angels Haunted by Past : Baseball: McLemore plays the outfield, gets key hit off Farrell in Orioles’ 4-1 victory.

Oriole Manager Johnny Oates sat behind his desk Friday afternoon, trying to conjure some way to stimulate his team.

He already had a 20-minute tirade after one game earlier this week. The players staged a kangaroo court the next day, fining one another for the many transgressions during their horrid stretch. Now, it was time to try something else.

There it was, staring in front of him on his page of statistics, Mark McLemore. This was a player who not only has a desire to burn his former team, but had teed off on Angel starter John Farrell throughout his career.

When the Orioles’ 4-1 victory over the Angels was culminated in front of a sellout crowd of 45,820 in Oriole Park at Camden Yards, McLemore was surrounded by a mob of reporters, and Oates was sitting in his office admiring his maneuver.

“We’ve definitely been a little flat,” McLemore said after helping the Orioles win at home for the first time this season and ending the Angels’ three-game winning streak. “I just wanted to create some different things and get us going like we should. Hopefully, this will do it.”

Starting in the outfield for the first time in his professional career, McLemore drove in the game-winner with a two-run double in the sixth inning, played flawlessly in right field, and then dismissed the Angels as just another team after the game.

McLemore, as if the Angels needed to be reminded, was part of an infield that they hoped would stay intact until the end of the decade. They had Wally Joyner at first, McLemore at second, Dick Schofield at shortstop, Jack Howell at third.

One by one, they disappeared. McLemore was the first to go when he was outrighted Aug. 17, 1990, and there are lingering memories that he refuses to dismiss.

“I went through some tough times mentally,” McLemore said. “I just had to fight back, and basically turned it over to the Lord and let him tell me what direction to go. Believe me, I’ve learned a lot since that happened, and mentally, I’ve never been stronger.

“I could talk about the Angels and how I feel toward them, but those days are over. I’m keeping the negative stuff out of my life. Really, they’re just another team now.”

Unfortunately for Farrell (0-2), McLemore is not just another hitter. He entered the game with a career .729 batting average against him, and lowered it to .700 by going two for three with two runs batted in.

“He’s definitely my nemesis,” said Farrell, who gave up six hits and three runs in six innings. “I don’t know what it is, he just seems to come up at the right situations, too. I guess it’s time I better try something different against him.”

The Orioles, stymied through the first five innings by Farrell, capitalized in the sixth on a couple of defensive flaws, and McLemore provided the final blow.

Appearing to tire, Farrell issued a one-out walk to Cal Ripken Jr., his first of the game. He fell behind to Glenn Davis, who singled to left. Catcher Chris Hoiles, on a full count, hit a lazy blooper toward the left-field line.

Left fielder Luis Polonia, who was playing toward left-center, raced toward the ball, and suddenly stopped. The ball dropped in fair territory, and the score was tied, 1-1.

“When the ball was hit, I thought it was going to be a foul ball,” Polonia said. “I probably could have tried to dive for it, but I didn’t want to make a mistake. I knew it was going to take more than one hit to win the game.”

McLemore provided that, ripping a two-out double into the left-center gap, scoring Davis and Hoiles.

Just like that, it was 3-1, and it was all the support Rick Sutcliffe (2-1) would need. Sutcliffe’s only major flaw was yielding a run-scoring double in the fourth inning to rookie J.T. Snow, who went two for three and raised his average to .385.

“I didn’t know too much about that lineup going in,” Sutcliffe said, “but now I know about J.T. Snow. Believe me, I won’t forget that name.

“I couldn’t believe they traded (Jim) Abbott, but after watching him hit, I do now.”