Mussina Takes Care of Angels With Bit of Help

The Baltimore Orioles aren’t as intimidating offensively as they were in 1996, when Brady Anderson was threatening Roger Maris’ home run record and Manager Davey Johnson could field a September lineup in which all nine starters had 20 home runs or more.

“But did you see their pitching stats?” Angel Manager Terry Collins gushed before Friday night’s game. “Wow!”

Baseball’s best winning percentage doesn’t come without offense, and the Orioles pack plenty of punch, but it’s Baltimore pitchers who have been most dominant in 1997, a point that was reinforced again in the Orioles’ 6-2 victory over the Angels before 24,944 in Anaheim Stadium.

Baltimore ace Mike Mussina gave up two runs on three hits and struck out six in 7 1/3 innings, and closer Randy Myers slithered out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the bottom of the ninth, as the Angels fell into second place in the American League West, half a game behind Seattle.

“With the stuff he had tonight he could pretty much beat anybody,” Angel leadoff batter Tony Phillips said of Mussina, who improved to 13-4 with a 3.16 earned-run average.

“The only chance you have against someone like that is to come back and beat them tomorrow. We have Chuck [Finley] going [tonight]. This one’s over. End of story.”

The Angels, who have won 16 games in their last at-bat, tried to put a different spin on the end of this one when Garret Anderson walked and Todd Greene singled to open the ninth off reliever Armando Benitez.

Eddie Murray greeted Myers with a bloop single to right-center, which gave him his 3,252nd career hit, tying Murray for 10th place on baseball’s all-time hit list.

Fans rose to their feet, sensing another miracle comeback in this season of surprises, but Luis Alicea, who tripled and scored in the eighth, popped to third baseman Cal Ripken.

Gary DiSarcina then hit into a 6-3 double play, Oriole shortstop Mike Bordick fielding the grounder up the middle, stepping on second and throwing to first, to give Myers his 33rd save.

Myers, Benitez and Jesse Orosco combined for 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, improving the bullpen to a combined 21-15 with 45 saves and a 2.61 ERA. Oriole relievers have six blown saves, fewest in the major leagues, and have yielded only one home run since July 20.

Baltimore’s league-leading ERA of 3.52 ranks third to Atlanta and the Dodgers in the big leagues, but the starting trio of Mussina, Jimmy Key and Scott Erickson have been particularly effective, combining for a 39-15 record and 3.09 ERA.

Mussina (13-4) didn’t give up a hit Friday until Dave Hollins’ fourth-inning single, and no Angel reached second base until the sixth, when Darin Erstad walked and advanced on a wild pitch. Erstad scored on Hollins’ double to right-center, trimming the lead to 5-1.

Chris Hoiles’ RBI single pushed the Baltimore lead to 6-1 in the top of the eighth, but Alicea tripled in the bottom of the inning and scored on DiSarcina’s groundout, pulling the Angels to within 6-2.

Mussina walked Phillips, and Johnson went to Orosco, who struck out Erstad but walked Hollins. Johnson then summoned Benitez, who struck out Tim Salmon on three pitches to end the inning.

“Mussina was outstanding--that’s why he’s one of the best pitchers in the game,” Collins said. “He came in and absolutely dominated the game for seven innings. We didn’t stir much up. If it wasn’t for Hollins, we might not have scored any runs.”

Baltimore built its lead off Angel knuckleballer Dennis Springer, who had an inexplicable hold on the Orioles, going 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA in four previous appearances, including a five-hit shutout in Camden Yards last Aug. 25.

But the Orioles scored more earned runs (four) in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings off Springer than they had in 23 previous innings combined (three) against him, taking advantage of Bordick’s fifth-inning homer, Ripken’s three-hit, one-RBI game, and Hoiles’ two RBIs.

“I know I have to keep the game close, and I didn’t do that,” Springer (7-5) said. “You can’t give that guy [Mussina] that much of a lead, because he’s going to take advantage of it.”