ANGELS: ONE GAME FOR THE TITLE : Up and Down (and Up Again) With the ’95 Angels

The Angels’ 1995 season has had as many sustained highs and lows as any in club history, with their efforts riding on a single playoff game today in Seattle. Here is a collection of some of the peaks and valleys:

THE FIRST HALF

April 2--Baseball’s seven-month strike comes to an end and players begin heading south for a belated spring training.

April 13--The Angels conclude their search for a top leadoff hitter by trading Chad Curtis to Detroit for Tony Phillips.

April 26--The Angels open the season by losing to Detroit, 5-4.

April 28--Tim Salmon’s home run in the 10th inning helps the Angels to their first victory of the season, 7-6, over Toronto.

May 3--Jim Edmonds’ single in the 10th inning gives the Angels an 8-7 victory over Oakland.

May 10--Chili Davis’ five hits and five runs batted in lift the Angels to an 11-2 victory over Texas. The Angels move into first place in the AL West for the first time.

May 11--The Angels lose, 6-2, to Texas, but Chili Davis reaches base four times in a row to run his streak to 10 consecutive plate appearances. During the streak, Davis has a home run, a double, six singles and two walks.

May 13--Kansas City defeats the Angels, 4-2, on Gary Gaetti’s two-run home run in the ninth inning, dropping the Angels from first place.

May 14--The Angels move back into first place behind the pitching of Mark Langston and Chili Davis’ 423-foot home run in an 8-1 victory over Kansas City.

May 15--Garret Anderson is one of three players sent to Vancouver as the Angels trim their roster to the 25-man limit.

May 18--Andy Allanson’s two home runs and six runs batted in pace the Angels to a 15-9 victory over Minnesota.

May 23--Chuck Finley, off to an 0-4 start, retires the first 15 New York batters and finishes with 15 strikeouts in a 10-0 victory. Jim Edmonds hits two home runs.

May 24--New York’s Jack McDowell takes a no-hitter into the eighth inning, but the Angels rally for a 3-1 victory.

May 25--J.T. Snow hits a grand slam to cap a nine-run second inning in a 15-2 decision over New York, the Angels’ seventh victory in a row.

May 30--Cal Ripken’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly lifts the Orioles to a 5-4 victory over the Angels.

June 2--Catcher Andy Allanson throws out Yankee Luis Polonia trying to steal second base to save the Angels’ 3-2 victory.

June 6--Tony Phillips homers twice to lead the Angels past Boston, 12-3. The Angels recall Garret Anderson from Triple-A Vancouver.

June 8--The Angels play their longest nine-inning game--four hours nine minutes--but hold on to beat Boston, 10-8.

June 9--Jeff Manto, a former Angel minor leaguer, hits two home runs and Baltimore knocks the Angels out of first place, 10-4.

June 11--Lee Smith retires Cal Ripken for the final out of a 5-4 victory over the Orioles, his 16th save of the season.

June 13--The Angels win their third in a row, 7-2, over Minnesota, to move into first place. During the streak, the Angels score 21 runs on 33 hits.

June 17--Gary DiSarcina’s 10th-inning single drives in the winning run in a 4-3 victory over Chicago. The Angels tie the score with two runs in the ninth on three walks, two hit batters and a wild pitch. Before the game, the Angels release reliever Mitch Williams.

June 18--The Angels defeat Chicago, 8-4, for their sixth victory in seven games.

June 20--Brian Anderson returns from injury to pitch a 3-2 victory over Kansas City. Left fielder Garret Anderson throws out a runner in the seventh and makes a running catch at the warning track in the ninth.

June 24--Randy Johnson strikes out 15 in a 3-2 victory for Seattle.

June 28--Lee Smith blows his first save opportunity as Texas scores three in the ninth for a 9-8 victory, ending the Angels’ 16-day stay in first place.

June 29--J.T. Snow’s bases-loaded triple caps an 11-run first inning, as the Angels rout Texas, 20-4.

June 30--Mark McGwire’s grand slam off Lee Smith with two out in the ninth beats the Angels, 8-5, at Oakland, dropping them into second place. Jim Edmonds’ hitting streak ends at 23 games.

July 2--A 7-1 victory over Oakland puts the Angels in first place for the first of 82 consecutive days. Gary DiSarcina, Jim Edmonds, Lee Smith and Chuck Finley are named to the American League All-Star team.

July 3--Mark Langston out-duels David Cone to give the Angels a 4-2 victory over Toronto.

July 4--A crowd of 61,292 sees Chuck Finley shut out Toronto and J.T. Snow drive in four runs in a 14-0 victory.

July 8--Mark Langston pitches a three-hitter to defeat Rickey Bones and Milwaukee, 1-0.

July 9--After a 9-7 loss to Milwaukee, the Angels go into the All-Star break tied for the American League West lead with Texas.

ASCENT

July 13--Tim Salmon’s three-run home run in the 10th lifts the Angels to an 8-5 victory over Detroit.

July 16--Garret Anderson’s four runs batted in in the first game and Jim Edmonds five RBIs in the second help the Angels sweep a doubleheader at Detroit, 6-4 and 13-6.

July 17--J.T. Snow drives in four runs and the Angels hit seven doubles in an 8-3 victory over Cleveland, in a meeting between the league’s two top teams.

July 18--Albert Belle’s grand slam off Lee Smith with one out in the ninth gives Cleveland a 7-5 victory.

July 20--A 10-3 victory over Toronto gives the Angels a 7-1 record on their Eastern trip.

July 22--Jim Edmonds homers twice and scores four runs in a 13-3 victory over Detroit.

July 24--The Angels rally from a five-run deficit before losing, 9-7, in the 10th to Cleveland.

July 25--Jim Edmonds throws out Paul Sorrento at the plate for the final out in the Angels’ 6-5 victory over Cleveland in front of 42,468 at Anaheim Stadium.

July 26--Chili Davis’ third-inning grand slam sparks the Angels to a 6-3 victory over Cleveland.

July 27--The Angels bolster their rotation by engineering the return of left-hander Jim Abbott in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.

July 29--Jim Abbott makes a successful return to the Angels, pitching six innings in a 4-0 victory over Milwaukee.

July 30--Garret Anderson drives in five runs in an 8-3 victory over Milwaukee. Chili Davis pokes a fan during an argument in the fourth inning.

Aug. 1--The Angels collect 10 hits off Randy Johnson, handing the Seattle ace only his second loss of the season, 7-2, and giving them the first 11-game lead in club history.

Aug. 2--The Angels hold on to beat Seattle, 5-4, when Lee Smith retires Edgar Martinez, the league’s leading hitter, with the tying run on second base to end the game. The late Jimmie Reese is inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.

Aug. 3--A crowd of 34,674 at Anaheim Stadium hails the return of Jim Abbott, but the Angels’ eight-game winning streak ends with a 10-7 loss to Seattle. But an even bigger loss is that of all-star shortstop Gary DiSarcina, who injures his thumb on a play at second base.

Aug. 8--Jim Abbott pitches the first seven innings of a 4-0 shutout victory at Kansas City, the Angels’ seventh of eight consecutive road victories.

Aug. 14--After blowing a seven-run lead, the Angels rally to take Chicago into extra innings, then win in the 10th, 11-10, on Greg Myers’ home run.

Aug. 15--Mark Langston wins his 12th game in 14 decisions with a 7-3 decision over Chicago. The victory gives the Angels--25-8 since the all-star break--a 64-38 record, the high-water mark of the season.

DESCENT

Aug. 19--Spike Owen’s two-run pinch-hit single in the seventh caps a comeback over New York in a 5-3 victory, snapping a three-game Angel losing streak.

Aug. 22--Roger Clemens and Mike Harkey exchange beanballs as tempers flare in Boston’s 6-4 victory.

Aug. 23--The Red Sox become the first team to sweep a series from the Angels, winning, 6-5, on Mike Greenwell’s run-scoring triple.

Aug. 25--Baltimore’s Scott Erickson defeats the Angels, 11-2, the first game in a nine-game losing streak.

Aug. 31--Paul O’Neill’s three home runs and eight runs batted in propel New York to an 11-6 victory, the Angels’ sixth loss in a row.

Sept. 3--Frustration rises as Manager Marcel Lachemann and Tony Phillips are ejected during an 8-1 loss to Boston, the Angels’ ninth in a row.

Sept. 4--Chili Davis’ three-run home run lifts the Angels to a 5-3 victory over Baltimore, ending a nine-game losing streak.

Sept. 6--Cal Ripken hits a home run playing in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking Lou Gehrig’s major league record and lifting the Orioles to a 4-2 victory. The Angels complete a stretch of 20 games against Baltimore, Boston and New York with a 4-16 record.

Sept. 9--Tim Salmon’s two-run home run in the seventh gives the Angels a 6-5 victory over Minnesota.

Sept. 10--Blowing a 7-2 lead, the Angels lose to Minnesota, 9-8, in 10 innings, dropping their lead to five games for the first time since July 22.

Sept. 13--Frank Thomas hits two home runs and Chicago rallies with six runs in the final two innings off the Angel bullpen to win, 6-1.

Sept. 16--After falling behind, 6-0, in the first inning, Angel rallies in the eighth and the ninth fall short in a 7-6 loss to Kansas City, cutting the Angel lead to three games.

Sept. 19--J.T. Snow’s two-run, two-out home run in the ninth sends the game into extra innings, but Oakland scores in the 10th for a 3-2 victory and the Angels’ sixth loss in a row. Moments after the game ends, Ken Griffey’s game-winning hit pulls Seattle one game out of the lead.

Sept. 20--After a 9-6 loss to Oakland, the Angels drop into a tie with Seattle for the AL West lead. The loss of a 10 1/2-game lead in just 35 days is the quickest of a lead that large in this century.

Sept. 21--Texas breaks a tie with five runs in the seventh for an 8-3 victory, dropping the Angels out of first place for the first time since July 1.

Sept. 24--Jim Abbott pitches a three-hitter and the Angels end a nine-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory over Texas, staying two games behind Seattle.

Sept. 26--Seattle knocks out Shawn Boskie in the third inning on the way to a 10-2 victory and a three-game lead over the Angels, who fell 1 1/2 games behind New York in the wild-card race.

REDEMPTION

Sept. 27--Chuck Finley, Troy Percival and Lee Smith shut down Seattle in front of 50,212 at the Kingdome, and Tim Salmon and Chili Davis drive in first-inning runs in the Angels’ 2-0 victory. Finley, pitching on only three days’ rest, gives up only three hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Sept. 28--A two-run throwing error by pitcher Doug Johns allows two runs to score as the Angels break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning of a 4-1 victory over Oakland. The Angels stay two games behind Seattle.

Sept. 29--A three-run rally in the fifth enables the Angels to defeat Oakland, 9-6.

Sept. 30--Chili Davis and J.T. Snow hit three-run home runs and Mike Harkey pitches 6 2/3 innings of shutout relief in a 9-3 victory over Oakland. Seattle’s loss to Texas allows the Angels to pull one game out of first place.

Oct. 1--Jim Edmonds drives in three runs and Chuck Finley pitches into the eighth inning to spark the Angels past Oakland, 8-2. With Seattle losing to Texas, the Angels pull into a tie for first place in the AL West.