Davis’ Homer Helps Angels End Two Slumps in Detroit

DETROIT — The slumps had grown together and they had grown ugly. Before Friday night, the Angels had not won a game or hit a home run since June 6, a span of nine days or seven games.

Chili Davis, a man largely responsible for ending both droughts, believes that their coexistence was more than coincidence.

“It’s important for us to hit home runs,” said Davis, whose three-run shot in the second inning helped the Angels score a 9-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers. “We’re not the Cardinals. We’re not the speediest team in baseball, or the league, for that matter.

“We have some power. That’s our weapon. If we’re not using it, we’re going to lose.”

Angel Manager Doug Rader had noticed the same thing. Before Davis, the last Angel to hit a home run was Claudell Washington, whose solo homer June 6 was the difference in a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Since then, Rader had watched his team go 0-7, managing just 12 runs while being shut out twice.

“If you don’t hit home runs,” Rader observed, “you’re not going to win too often. You’ve got to hit the ball over the wall.”

Finally, Davis did. Two innings later, Jack Howell did the same.

Soon, the Angels were on their way to their first victory of this trip and their fourth win in June.

It had been a long wait, and the Angels, for the most part, seemed unfamiliar with the procedure. As soon as Davis deposited his seventh home run into the upper deck in right field, the Angel effort deteriorated into basic retreat.

The saving factor in the Angels’ play the rest of the way was the fact that Detroit, the last-place team in the American League East, was providing the opposition.

For instance:

--In the fifth inning, center fielder Devon White and right fielder Washington let a fly ball by Keith Moreland drop between them for a bloop double that scored Lou Whitaker from first base.

--In the eighth inning, Rader had to resort to three pitchers to retire the side. After starter Bert Blyleven allowed two hits and a run, Rich Monteleone was summoned and walked the only batter he faced. Then Bryan Harvey walked the first batter he faced, before finally striking out Mike Brumley for the third out.

--In the ninth inning, Harvey walked two more batters, took a line drive off his right foot and yielded another run. Finally, he got the last out by striking out Chet Lemon to bring an end to nearly 3 1/2 hours of take-it, no-you-take-it baseball.

Fittingly, Angel catcher Lance Parrish dropped the final strike, having to spring from his crouch and throw to first base to record the out.

“Whew,” Rader said. “I didn’t think we played as well as we should’ve, but I have to be grateful we won. Any time you’re in a dead streak like we’re in, you’ll take anything.

“We needed to move a runner over--and we didn’t. We needed to get a bunt down--and we didn’t. We needed to throw some strikes--and we didn’t.

“But we won.”

The Tigers, meanwhile, literally limped away from this one. A ninth-inning collision between Davis and Detroit catcher Matt Nokes sent Nokes sprawling, leaving him with a partially torn ligament in his left knee. The injury, sustained when Davis tried to score standing up and ran straight into Nokes’ locked leg, will sideline the catcher for four to six weeks.

“I didn’t slide because I was dead at the plate,” Davis explained. “I wasn’t trying to run over him, but as it turned out, I had to run into him . . . If I slid, I probably would have broken my ankle.

“It’s something that happens in the game. Now, there are some guys you might want to take a cheap shot at, but Matt’s not one of them. I played with Matt (in San Francisco). He’s a good guy. Hopefully, he won’t be out too long.”

So it goes for the reeling Tigers. Detroit began the day by putting outfielder Fred Lynn on the disabled list and with rookie Mike Schwabe on the mound, starting in place of the injured Jack Morris. Schwabe (1-2) lasted but 4 2/3 innings against the Angels, allowing five runs on seven hits--the most damaging being Davis’ three-run home run.

“I’d never seen him before,” Davis said of the rookie right-hander. “I’d never heard of him. I thought he was an investment firm.”

By the time Davis had been officially introduced to Schwabe, the Angels were en route to ending a losing streak that began in Anaheim and took them through Kansas City and Texas, all the way to Detroit.

Angel Notes

The question over what to do with Kyle Abbott’s $190,000 signing bonus--give it to him in one lump sum or split it evenly over two years--was finally settled Friday. Striking a compromise that will pay Abbott more than half of the bonus in 1989 and the rest in 1990, the Angels signed their No. 1 draft choice and immediately assigned him to Quad City, their single-A farm club. Quad City is a member of the Midwest League, making Abbott the second member of his family to play in the league. Abbott’s father, Larry, pitched for rival Burlington in the late 1960s. “And my mother was pregnant with me at the time,” Abbott said. “So I know the park, I just don’t remember seeing it.”

The Angels Go To Midland: So how did the Angels enjoy their day off Thursday, which they spent bussing and flying to Midland, Tex., for an exhibition game against their double-A farm team? “Awesome,” Manager Doug Rader said. “It’s always nice to see the Permian Oil Basin again.” The Angels took the event somewhat less than seriously, with Rader, at one point, fielding an infield consisting of coach Deron Johnson at first base, coach Bobby Knoop at second and Rader at third. “We also had (bullpen coach) Joe Coleman in the outfield,” Rader reported, “but after one inning, we had to get him out of there.” Rader let his third baseman play awhile, though. “I had a backhand and a dive,” Rader said, grinning and turning up in his nose. “I only had one problem: My cannon’s not too good. I can’t throw, I can’t see, my legs are slow. The only thing I can do is catch it. Everything else is shot.” Rader also batted twice, flying out to center field and striking out. “He throws me a slider and punches me out,” Rader said with disgust. “A damn slider. I tell you, that kid is history.”

The Angels did have one no-show in Midland. Outfielder Claudell Washington missed the team bus from the hotel to the airport, which caused him to miss the team charter from Dallas to Midland. Washington hailed a cab but got lost at the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport, which can happen. “We held the plane, we looked for him at the terminal, we had him paged,” Rader said. “That airport’s so big, you take a wrong turn and you can be wandering around for a half-hour.” Charter gone, Washington purchased a ticket to Detroit and met the team there when they arrived Thursday night. That move might have spared Washington a fine from Rader. “There were extenuating circumstances, and he did get his own plane ticket,” the manager said. “The expense of getting up here is a fine in itself.”