Angels Lose in 10th; Schofield Sidelined

The Oakland Athletics are here, braced for 1989’s final regular-season meeting between the leaders in the American League West, but where are the Angels?

Catcher Lance Parrish is out with aching ribs.

Designated hitter Brian Downing is out with the latest flare-up of his rib cage injury.

And now shortstop Dick Schofield is out, for an anticipated two to four weeks, after breaking his left hand in the third inning of the Angels’ 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Seattle Mariners Thursday night before 26,924 fans at Anaheim Stadium.

Angel timing, cursed for 29 straight summers, strikes again.

On the eve of their most important series of the season, after spending four months fending off the injury-ravaged A’s, the Angels found themselves suddenly in worse condition than the Bashed Brothers.

“Things happen, man,” Angel left fielder Chili Davis said. “This is a big one, because we’re losing the best shortstop in the league. But this is when a team shows its character.

“Oakland went through it and maintained a strong race with us. Now we have to show we can do it. Pick it up, hit a little better in the clutch, do the little things you have to do in this situation.”

Thursday night had begun so promisingly for the Angels, too.

Claudell Washington, missing since the weekend because of a bruised shoulder, finally returned to the starting lineup and singled home a run. Chuck Finley, bidding for his 14th victory, had nine strikeouts after five innings, on his way to 12 in nine-plus innings.

But in the bottom of third, Seattle starter Scott Bankhead hit Schofield in the left hand with an errant fastball, resulting in a break in the fifth metacarpal bone. Once X-rays determined the break, Schofield had the hand placed in a splint, facing a stint on the disabled list that could extend until September.

Seven innings later, with the score tied at 2-2, Mariner third baseman Jim Presley opened the 10th inning with a home run to center field, sending Finley to his eighth defeat of the season.

Thus the Angels and the A’s enter this series in a virtual tie atop the AL West standings. By the end of weekend, someone will be alone in first. “I’d like to be 10 games up,” Davis said, “but I’m not going to sit here and groan about it. It’s like being in a bar and you’re trying to pick up a girl. If she says see you later, you go over and check out her friend.”

In other words, the Angels could be in worse shape. And considering where they spent the last two Septembers, a first-place tie on the 11th day of August is not too bad.

Still, the weekend’s outlook would be a bit brighter for the Angels with Schofield in the field.

“We’ve been through this before,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said in a brave attempt to downplay the predicament. “Schoey’s been on the DL before and we’ve handled it. The kid did a good job.”

The kid, in this instance, is rookie shortstop Kent Anderson, who began the season in triple-A but was recalled in late April to replace Schofield after the starter sustained a chest muscle injury. Anderson played well enough in his three-week trial that he has remained on the Angel roster ever since.

And tonight, he’ll be at shortstop with the AL West lead on the line.

“At least, he’s been through the whole situation of breaking in at the big league level,” Rader said. “It beats the hell out of bringing up a guy from the minor leagues who hadn’t been grinding through this thing this year.”

Schofield’s injury and Presley’s home run tarnished nine-plus innings of exceptional pitching by Finley (13-8). In regulation, Finley allowed only three hits--none after the second inning--but had to attempt to pitch a 10th inning because one of those hits was a two-run home run by Henry Cotto.

Cotto’s homer, coming with one out in the second inning, marked the continuation of the quirkier streaks to crop up this season. For Cotto, the hit marked his third home run in as many at-bats--each of them coming on the first pitch.

Three pitches, three homers.

Of course, Cotto hadn’t appeared in a game since Aug. 1, so he had some time to prepare between pitches.

The Angels tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the third. Jack Howell led off with a walk before Schofield was hit by the pitch that figures to sideline him at least through much of August. Schofield left the game immediately, giving way to pinch-runner Anderson.

Howell scored on a single to right field by Washington, with Anderson taking third on the hit. Anderson scored on another single by Johnny Ray.

The Angels had opportunities to break the tie in the sixth and seventh innings, only to leave a runner stranded at third both times.

In the 10th, the score was still 2-2, and Rader tried to milk an extra inning out of Finley--a gamble that lasted only two batters.

“He hadn’t thrown 120 pitches,” Rader reasoned. “He seemed fine. All he did was get two pitches up in the strike zone--one to Cotto and one to Presley. The bottom line is that we left a couple of runners at third base. Chuck never should’ve been in that predicament.”

But looking ahead, Davis said: “Tomorrow night, showdown at the OK Corral. Let’s have some fun. This place should be rocking.

“This is what they pay you $1 million for. If you can’t stand the pressure, get out of the kitchen.”

Angel Notes

You can tell the Athletics are coming to town by the way the wounded Angels are lining up to take batting practice. Thursday, catcher Lance Parrish tested his sore ribs in the cage and tonight, Brian Downing is planning to do the same. Parrish, in fact, was lobbying to play Thursday, telling reporters, “I feel like I’m ready to play, but I’m having trouble convincing everyone else. They don’t want to rush anything.” The prognosis was for Parrish to miss seven to 10 games, but Parrish said, “I’m trying to speed it up. I’m used to playing with injuries. If need be, I could play (tonight). The big problem is, everyone feels I might set myself back. Personally, I don’t feel I could do that, unless I get hit at the plate or something like that.” If Parrish does play, it will probably be as a designated hitter.

The Angels announced the following pregame sale totals for the A’s series: tonight--53,000; Saturday--48,000; Sunday--51,000. That’s a total of 152,000, eclipsing the Angels’ previous record for a three-game series at Anaheim Stadium--146,010, set in 1982 against Kansas City.