Moore Stays In . . . and In . . . and In; Angels Win

Whether it’s due to blind faith or simple desperation, when it comes to relief pitcher Donnie Moore and the act of closing out baseball games, count Angel Manager Gene Mauch among the believers.

“Donnie Moore is my man,” Mauch said. “He’s the guy who puts a stop to things.”

Or at least the guy who will go down trying.

Whenever Mauch makes the move to go with Moore, the inference is that the decision is binding. Once Moore is on the mound, he’s out there for good. A hurricane could hit, and still, Moore would remain on the rubber, Mauch expecting him to blow one more strike past this last hitter.

Take, for example, the Angels’ nervous 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles before 26,594 fans Saturday at Anaheim Stadium.

Ron Romanick had taken a 5-0 lead into the ninth inning, only to have the margin quickly sliced to 5-2 when Fred Lynn homered with Eddie Murray on base. Wasting no time, Mauch brought on Moore, producer of nine saves and three victories in 17 appearances.

It looked like a piece-of-cake opportunity for Moore: no one on base, Murray and Lynn and Cal Ripken in the dugout, the bottom of the Baltimore lineup next to be navigated.

Seven hitters later, Moore was still churning and chugging, with no more luxuries--this time, with the bases full and Ripken at the plate.

Moore got Ripken, inducing him to hit into a game-ending pop-out to second. It was Moore’s 10th save of the season, good for a share of the American League lead, and was no doubt his toughest.

The situation intensified, and nearly got out of hand, after Moore walked the first batter he faced (Larry Sheets) and retired the next two (Joe Nolan and Fritz Connally). That brought up the No. 9 man in the Baltimore batting order and pinch-hitter Wayne Gross.

Two pitches to Gross, two strikes. For Moore, all that was needed was one more.

Instead, Gross worked the count to 2-and-2 and drilled a delivery by Moore up the middle for a base hit. Leadoff man Lee Lacy followed with another single to load the bases. Jim Dwyer then walked, bringing home Sheets.

Instant jam for Moore. And stepping next up to the plate was Ripken, a .296 hitter with eight homers and 31 runs batted in. Just the guy you’d want to face with the bases loaded.

Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann wandered out to the mound, but it was only for a quiet chat. Moore wasn’t coming out.

“I never even considered that he would be getting to Ripken and Murray,” Mauch said of Moore. “I thought we’d all be back in the house way before then.

“The other kids (in the Angel bullpen) have been good, but Moore’s the stopper. I was going with him. I’m glad he’s there.”

So, for Moore, admittedly struggling with less than his best material, it was get Ripken or bust.

Finally, he succeeded where he had failed against the .213-hitting Gross and the .226-hitting Lacy. He got Ripken out.

Someone suggested that Ripken might have been the right hitter for Moore in that situation. Ripken is off to a slow 1-for-9 start in this series.

Moore suggested that that was not a wise suggestion.

“How can you ask me that?” Moore said. “You never want to face him, even if he’s 0 for 30. Every ball he hits is on the warning track. That’s ridiculous.”

According to both Moore and Mauch, the prospect of facing Ripken was so distasteful to Moore that he started to press against the lesser Oriole hitters. And that’s when the trouble started.

“With a couple of hitters, he was just trying to get it over with,” Mauch said. “Instead of pitching to one spot, he was picking up the ball and just firing it.”

Moore said: “Yeah, I was overthrowing. When I got to the bottom of the lineup, I was pressing instead of bearing down. I did not want to face the other guys.”

Romanick (6-1) encountered pretty fair success against the other guys. Until the ninth inning, he had held Ripken, Murray and Lynn to a collective 1 for 9.

Consequently, he had held the Orioles scoreless.

Lynn’s home run, however, spoiled Romanick’s bid for his second complete-game victory in six days.

“I was mad that my stamina gave out on me,” Romanick said. “I had nothing in the ninth. I was just hoping they’d hit it at somebody.

“I had no life on my pitches. It was like putting the ball on a tee and having them hit it, basically. And they did.”

But three Baltimore runs were not enough to undo what the Angel offense had done against Dennis Martinez (3-3) and reliever Nate Snell: a 5-0 lead, courtesy of a run in the fourth, a two-run homer by Ruppert Jones in the sixth and RBI hits by Jerry Narron and Mike Brown in the eighth.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead when Bobby Grich hit into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth, scoring Juan Beniquez from third.

In the sixth, after Brian Downing was hit by a pitch with one out, Jones connected for his fifth home run of the year and his 20th RBI.

The two runs that eventually proved decisive came in the eighth after Jones walked and Grich singled. Narron singled to left to score Jones, and Brown doubled to right to bring home Grich.

That gave the Angels a 5-0 advantage, which Moore was able to protect--barely.

“He got the job done--that’s what counts,” Mauch said. “One of these days, he’s not going to do it, and I’ll get mad at him.

“But only for about 20 seconds.”

Angel Notes

Mike Brown, making a rare start in right field in place of injured Reggie Jackson, went 2 for 3 and made a spectacular diving catch in the fifth inning--sprinting into the gap in right-center to rob Lenn Sakata of two potential RBIs. In light of the Orioles’ ninth-inning rally, it turned out to be a critical play. Could Jackson have made it? “Starting from the same position, probably not,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said. . . . Brown has been dissatisified with his lack of playing time (48 at-bats before Saturday), and Mauch said he can sympathize. “It’s a tough season for anybody when they are not playing every day. I know that,” Mauch said. “The only thing Mike Brown’s gotta remember is that there’s 120 games to play. A lot of things can happen.”. . . One thing already has happened: Brown is expected to start again today, with center fielder Gary Pettis still not 100% ready to return to the lineup. “My guess is, no, Pettis won’t play,” Mauch said. “Besides, how can I sit Brown down after a game like this?” . . . Angel Stopper: Ron Romanick, winner of eight of his last nine decisions, has already stopped two-game Angel losing streaks three times this year. The Angels had lost two straight before Saturday’s win. “It’s real satisfying to pick the team up,” Romanick said, “but fate just placed me here. There are other guys on the staff who can do the same thing.” . . . Ruppert Jones’ sixth-inning home run was the 900th hit of his career. . . . Today, the Angels’ Kirk McCaskill (0-3) faces the Orioles’ Mike Boddicker (6-2) in a 1 p.m. game.