Angels’ Clark Wins Duel, 4-0

That was an old-fashioned pitching duel they waged Sunday at Anaheim Stadium. You could tell by the zeroes on the scoreboard, the occasional sparkling defensive play and the fact they were still bunting in the eighth inning.

There was even an old-fashioned pitcher, Frank Tanana, which, of course, always helps.

And, there was Terry Clark.

Terry Clark? That’s exactly what Detroit Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson was saying before sending his team out to face the Angels’ 27-year-old rookie right-hander, a veteran of 10 minor-league seasons and one major-league start.

“Nobody knows anything about this guy,” Anderson said.

Eight innings later, the Tigers still hadn’t scored anything against him. And when Detroit’s defense lapsed just enough to break a 0-0 stalemate in the bottom of the eighth, Clark and the Angels had broken through for a dramatic, if unlikely, 4-0 victory over the Tigers before a crowd of 36,030.

Clark, who grew up in La Puente, used to watch Tanana on television, back when Tanana’s fastball was still fast and his cap still adorned by a halo.

Sunday, Clark was there--live and in person--actually matching Tanana pitch for pitch, zero for zero, inning after inning.

“Unbelievable,” Clark said. “The thrill of a lifetime.”

For 7 1/2 innings, they pitched to a scoreless standoff. Then, a Detroit error. A walk. A single to load the bases. A swinging bunt that Tanana gloved with a dive and turned into a splashy out at home.

Then, Anderson came to the mound and ended the moment. Tanana was through for the afternoon, Mike Henneman was his replacement and, two batters later, the Angels had a 4-0 lead.

Brian Downing’s two-run single was the game-winner. Chili Davis’ two-run double was the insurance.

Angel reliever Donnie Moore came on to work the top of the ninth, retired the Tigers in order and the Angels were on their way to their third win in four games against the current leaders of the American League East.

Clark, meanwhile, was on his way to his second big league victory in as many starts. Just before the All-Star break, he pitched the first 5 innings of a 7-1 triumph over the Cleveland Indians.

Ten days off followed . . . and then Clark returns to shut out the Tigers on 5 singles through 8 innings--one day after the Tigers hammered Willie Fraser and the Angels, 10-1.

Downing shook his head.

“That was a great pitching performance--and that is an understatement,” Downing said. “Clark comes in there and it’s a day game, when the ball really carries here. They (the Tigers) have a lot of left-handers and they’re throwing a pitcher who’s very consistent. We needed a big pitching performance--and we got it out of him.”

Good timing, too. Through six innings against Tanana (11-5), the extent of the Angel offense was a single to deep shortstop by Tony Armas and a pair of walks. In the seventh inning, George Hendrick grounded a single through the right side of the infield to double the Angel hit total.

Clark, relying on a mix of changeups and sliders, took up the challenge Tanana offered with surprising aplomb.

“It was kind of like going one-on-one out there,” Clark said. “He’d pitch an inning, I’d pitch an inning. He’d look at me, I’d look at him.”

Tanana is 35 years old and a winner of 185 major league games, but Clark never flinched.

The zeroes kept coming.

“It got down to where I just wanted to yell at him,” Clark said with a laugh. “I’d look at him sitting in the dugout and I wanted to say, ‘You’re going to give up a run, sooner or later.’ ”

Tanana, meanwhile, could have sneered at a pair of Angel defensive plays that robbed the Tigers of two hits and, by Clark’s admission, kept Clark in the game.

The first was a sharp grounder off Chet Lemon’s bat in the fourth inning, a ball Angel shortstop Dick Schofield gloved with a backhanded swipe and then lofted in mid-jump to first base. Both of Schofield’s feet were off the ground when he made the throw, but he got enough arm behind it to beat Lemon by at least two strides.

The second was a deep drive to the wall in left-center by Dave Bergman in the seventh inning. The ball never reached the wall, however--Angel left fielder Armas sprinting, leaping and crashing to take the hit away from Bergman.

Clark said it was “an unbelievable feeling to watch Schofield go into the hole like that.” He called Armas’ catch, “a big lift.”

“If I give up a double there, to the leadoff hitter in the seventh inning of a scoreless tie, I know I’m probably out of the game.”

Instead, Clark was able to last long enough to benefit from the Angels’ eighth-inning outburst--four runs, all of them unearned, which only seemed to figure on such a day.

Schofield began the eighth by hitting a grounder to second baseman Lou Whitaker and reaching base when Whitaker’s throw drew first baseman Bergman off the bag. After a sacrifice by Gus Polidor, Bob Boone walked and Devon White singled through the left side of the infield, loading the bases with one out for Johnny Ray, the Angels’ top hitter.

This time, however, all Ray could manage against Tanana was a nubber to the right of the mound. Tanana pounced on the ball like a linebacker chasing a fumble and, rolling over on his side, lobbed the ball home in time for a force out of Schofield.

It was an exceptional play, but it would be the last one Tanana would make Sunday. As soon as Tanana rose to his feet, Anderson joined him on the mound to usher Henneman in from the bullpen.

Said Anderson: “It’s awful tough to go get a guy who hasn’t given up a run, but . . .”

Anderson went and brought in Henneman, who entered the game with a 2.28 earned-run average and 14 saves.

He left after surrendering a two-run single to Downing, a two-run double to Chili Davis, an intentional walk to Wally Joyner and a too-little-too-late infield fly by Armas.

The stalemate was broken and Clark was headed for big-league victory No. 2, pulling him to within 183 of Tanana.

“This makes the years of waiting worth it,” said Clark, who filed the game ball away in his locker stall.

Angel Notes

Brian Downing said he wasn’t surprised to see Detroit Manager Sparky Anderson replace Frank Tanana with reliever Mike Henneman just before his decisive eighth-inning at-bat. “(Anderson) has one of the top closers around,” Downing said. “Henneman’s his short reliever, one of the best in the league. That’s why he uses him.” However, Downing did admit surprise when Angel Manager Cookie Rojas allowed him to hit against Henneman--with a left-hander named Wally Joyner on the bench. “For the first time in 10 years, I was looking over my shoulder,” Downing said. “If he wanted to use Wally, I could have fully understood it. I’m not swinging well and I haven’t done a lot with runners in scoring position this year for the first time. I’m just glad I got the chance and came through.” Rojas said he was saving Joyner for a possible pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning--or beyond. “If the game had stayed tied, I couldn’t have still pinch-hit for (George) Hendrick with Joyner,” Rojas said. “We weren’t down at the time. Even if we don’t score there, the score is still tied.”

Rojas also said he had no intention of letting Terry Clark start the ninth inning, giving him a chance at a shutout in his second big-league start. “If we score or we don’t score, either way, Donnie Moore was coming in,” Rojas said. Clark, who went 5 innings in his first Angel start, made 112 pitches Sunday. “With the score being 0-0, you always have the idea that it may go extra innings,” Clark said. “Why throw me out there in the ninth when I might be tired, walked a guy and get into a bunt situation, where they can win the game with a base hit?” . . . Clark is not a strikeout pitcher--he struck out three Tigers Sunday--meaning that he keeps the ball in play. And that means he relies heavily on his defense, which may be why he’s 2-0 with the Angels after going 7-6 with a 4.51 earned-run average with triple-A Edmonton. “I give up a lot of ground balls that go through in triple-A,” Clark said. “Here, the guys make the plays on the same balls.” . . . Tanana is one of eight active pitchers to have worked 3,000 or more career innings--and five are former Angels (Tanana, Nolan Ryan, Tommy John, Jerry Reuss and Don Sutton). The others are Bert Blyleven, Doyle Alexander and Rick Reuschel.

Detroit shortstop Alan Trammell was reactivated before the game and batted cleanup, going 0 for 3 with a double play. To make room for Trammell, Ivan DeJesus was assigned outright to triple-A Toledo. Because DeJesus has more than five years of big-league experience, he had to agree to the move, which he did. . . . Tony Armas’ infield single against Tanana in the fifth inning was the 1,200th hit of his career. . . . Doug Davis made his major league start at catcher, teaming up with former Edmonton batterymate Clark, and threw out Pat Sheridan on a stolen-base attempt to end the sixth inning.