Zahn Warms to the Task; Angels Top Mariners, 9-2

A cold mist fell throughout the game between the Angels and Seattle Mariners at Anaheim Stadium Sunday.

Gene Mauch sat in the warmth of his clubhouse office later and said the conditions reminded him of Toronto.

“It just wasn’t a real easy day to play,� the Angel manager said. “The weather tends to magnify any kind of problem, especially when the problem is in your joints.�

The problems Mauch alluded to were with Geoff Zahn’s left shoulder and left knee.

Neither was quite right again, but it was the Mariners who came unhinged trying to time Zahn’s junkyard assortment of off-speed, off-line pitches.

The 38-year-old southpaw allowed only four hits through seven innings before Doug Corbett pitched a flawless two as the Angels routed Seattle, 9-2.

A Cap Day crowd of 59,860 saw Zahn ignore the return of tendinitis in his shoulder as he hurled five shutout innings, gave up a two-run homer to Gorman Thomas in the sixth and ultimately emerged with a 2-0 record and 1.21 earned run average.

Zahn has allowed only three runs in 22 innings, which is not a surprise.

He now has a 26-5 career record for April, his breaking-ball and change-of-pace repertoire frustrating hitters who emerge from training camp geared to hit fastballs.

“We put on a real hitting exhibition in batting practice,� Seattle Manager Chuck Cottier said, “then Mr. Zahn went out there and put us in his back pocket.

“He wants you to get overanxious and that’s just what we did. We refuse to wait.�

Angel hitters didn’t wait either. They jumped on Jim Beattie for four runs in the first and two more in the second. Beattie faced a total of 11 batters before his departure with no outs in the second, and eight reached base.

The Seattle right-hander walked three in the first inning, including Brian Downing with the bases loaded to account for the first run. Doug DeCinces accounted for two more with a single. Bobby Grich then singled to score the fourth.

A Gary Pettis single and RBI double by Rod Carew in the second brought on Dave Geisel, who maintained the 6-0 disadvantage until the fourth when Carew doubled again and Juan Beniquez slugged his first home run.

The Angels, tied with Oakland and Seattle for the Western Division lead at 7-5, have scored 38 runs in their last six games, winning five.

“Everyone seems comfortable up there,� Mauch said of his hitters.

The early cushion, of course, made it a lot more comfortable for Zahn, who has recaptured his first-half form of last year when he was 9-4 with a 1.98 ERA before being snubbed by Joe Altobelli in his pitching selections for the All-Star game.

Mauch reflected on Zahn’s latest performance and said, “he was out there all day on cunning and guile. He didn’t feel real good from the word go.�

Cunning and guile, of course, are Zahn staples. He laughed and said: “Gene thinks I get through every day on cunning and guile--whether I’m pitching or not.� The tendinitis, however, is not a laughing matter.

It struck Zahn in late March. He missed a start in the Freeway Series because of it, battled it some while yielding only one run in 6 innings of his first start against Minnesota, then pitched without pain as he shut out the Twins last Monday night in the Metrodome.

“I thought I had it licked,� he said Sunday, “but I felt uncomfortable again warming up today.

“Once I throw and loosen up I’m fine, but I have to push it to get there.

“It’s a concern in that it’s not fun to have to go out and warm up when your arm is hurting, but as long as I can pitch with it I don’t consider it that big a deal. I mean, it’s not the way I’d like to have it, it’s not 100%, but I can pitch effectively with it and I don’t think it’s going to force me to miss a start.

“Some people would probably look at the way I’ve been pitching and say they hope it hurts like this all year.�

Zahn employs weights and stretching exercises in his bid to control the condition. He uses an exercise bike and a treadmill that simulates cross-country skiing in his effort to strengthen a left knee that has been operated on six times and could give out at any time.

He now shares the clubhouse bike with Corbett, who has been taken off a running regimen to reduce the stress on a left knee that was drained of excess fluid twice last week and could also blow at any time.

Corbett was examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum Saturday and told he would probably need surgery when the season was over. He reflected on his two fine innings Sunday and said he was pleased with the new program.

“We’re trying to take as much stress off the joint as possible and strengthen the musculature so that I don’t have to visit OR (operating room) until the season--and the World Series--is over,� he said.

Angel Notes Lower back stiffness forced Gary Pettis out of the game in the fifth inning and he’s uncertain for tonight’s opener of a three-game series with Oakland. Dr. Lewis Yocum examined Pettis, then told Manager Gene Mauch that if the stiffness remains restricted to one area, it might be relieved via late-afternoon therapy. “Otherwise, Gary may need some time,� Mauch said. . . . Catalyst Pettis is hitting .200 with three runs scored in games the Angels have lost and .440 with eight runs scored in games they have won. . . . Reggie Jackson, frustrated after flying out in the fourth inning, returned to the dugout and flipped his helmet in the air. The helmet hit the dugout roof and skipped off it, striking Todd Brown of Torrance, the 9-year-old son of Richard Brown, the Angels’ legal counsel, in the forehead. The youth was treated for a scrape, then returned to his box seat, where he received a new helmet and ball from Jackson. . . . Seattle owner George Argyros, concerned about the inability of first baseman Alvin Davis, the AL Rookie of the Year in 1984, to shake groin and thigh muscle pulls that sidelined him again Sunday, had Davis tested Saturday for hypoglycemia. Davis had the condition while at Arizona State, but the new tests were negative. . . . Hot hitters: Doug DeCinces has nine RBIs in the last five games. Rod Carew has nine hits in his last 17 at bats and has driven in nine runs with his overall total of 14 hits. Carew’s two doubles enabled him to tie Frank Robinson for 19th place on the all-time hit list with 2,943.