Flight to Contender Lets Ray Help Land Angels a 6-2 Victory

From Pittsburgh to the pennant race in only one hour. Johnny Ray never figured it was so simple.

After serving a six-year term in the gulag of the National League East, Ray finally sprung his break from the last-place Pirates, hopping aboard a 60-minute flight to Baltimore and arriving at Memorial Stadium to play a late August game that actually meant something.

Ray took to his new surroundings faster than you can say, well, Johnny Ray. Sunday, Ray went straight from the airport to the ballpark to the Angels’ starting lineup, where he delivered doubles in his first two at-bats and helped the Angels to a 6-2 victory over the Orioles.

His first double, coming in the second inning, was the Angels’ first hit of the game, and it brought forth a deluge upon Oriole starting pitcher Eric Bell (9-11). Soon to follow were home runs by Tony Armas, Wally Joyner and Brian Downing and, by the top of fifth inning, Don Sutton was pitching with the luxury of a 6-0 advantage.

Sutton (9-10) went on to pitch seven scoreless innings and, with the assistance of reliever Greg Minton, earned career victory No. 319, moving him past Phil Niekro into 11th place on the all-time list.

It was also a milestone day for Ray, the Angels’ new second baseman after Saturday’s trade with the Pirates. For the first time since 1983, Ray is playing for a contender, albeit one from the American League West, where every team not wearing white sox has a chance to finish first.

But that beats the other extreme, where Pittsburgh has been entrenched for the past four seasons.

“It’s been awhile,” Ray said. “We were in contention in ’82 and ‘83, but after that, it’s been pretty much downhill.

“This will be an adjustment for me . . . Now, I have a chance to win a championship ring.”

Ray admitted to jitters in his first American League game. He said he was glad he wasn’t required to field a ground ball until the ninth inning.

“I was nervous out there,” Ray said with a smile. “A new team, a new stadium, new surroundings. The butterflies were definitely there.

“I’m just trying to get my feet on the ground. It was nice to break the ice like this. I wanted to make something happen.”

Ray was stranded at second after his first double, but he helped break open a 1-0 game with his second. With runners on first and second with one out in the fourth inning, Ray bounced a ground-rule double over Oriole right fielder Larry Sheets--and the right-field fence--to bring home one run.

Ray then scored ahead of Joyner’s home run, a three-run shot that gave Joyner 96 runs batted in and Sutton a 5-0 lead.

Sutton, who had been stuck on career victory No. 318 since Aug. 4 and was winless in his last four starts, was glad to get the help.

“He’s a terrific asset,” Sutton said of Ray. “I’ve seen him from the other angle, and I know what he can do.

“He won’t strike out that much, he’ll put the ball in play, he’s knows the game itself. He can play. Getting a player like him is a big lift to this club.”

Sutton pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-outs predicament in the second inning and allowed just five singles through seven innings, retiring the final 11 Orioles he faced.

But perhaps the most remarkable thing about this start for Sutton was the absence of a scuffball controversy.

Two starts ago, Oriole coach Frank Robinson accused Sutton of the doctoring the baseball in Anaheim, prompting the umpires to remove three balls from play. In Sutton’s next start, TV cameras caught the pitcher with a dark-colored patch on his glove hand, leading to a few days’ worth of speculation: Band-Aid or sandpaper?

Sunday, the Orioles pointed no fingers at Sutton, and no baseballs were removed.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had checked me,” Sutton said. “I’ve been closely scrutinized the last couple of weeks.

“Hopefully, it will all blow over, and we can get back to playing baseball. Enough is enough. A lot of people have been getting involved, venturing their opinions and becoming experts.”

Apparently, Cal Ripken Sr., the Oriole manager, agrees with Sutton. When asked why he didn’t ask the umpires to check Sutton, Ripken quickly grew tired of the questioning.

“I didn’t see any reason to check him,” Ripken said. “The umpires were looking at the balls, and they didn’t find anything.

“I don’t know if he scuffs the ball, but the umpires were out there. The hell with him scuffing the ball. Hit the other side of the ball. The umpires are supposed to control all that, anyhow. Evidently, they didn’t feel like he was scuffing the ball.”

Evidently, Ripken had run out of patience.

And so, in a different way, had Ray. At 30, Ray has some good years left, but he was running out of time waiting to win in Pittsburgh.

“I had mixed feelings about leaving,” he said. “I’d been there for six years, and I want them to do well. But I’ve been waiting so long to be with a contending team--and I didn’t want to wait too long.

“For myself, winning is the bottom line, the ultimate thing. Hopefully, that will happen for me. Soon.”

Angel Notes

Although he was technically “optioned” to the minor leagues to make room on the roster for Johnny Ray, Mark McLemore remained in uniform and sat on the Angels’ bench during Sunday’s game. He will also sit out tonight’s game in Toronto before being re-activated Tuesday, when rosters can be expanded to 40. McLemore will not be eligible for the playoffs, however, and that part of the transaction hurt him the most. “I was very surprised,” McLemore said. “My first reaction was: Why? I think I did well enough. We were in position where we’re still in the race. I was in the lineup every day. Things could have been a lot worse off than they are now. Obviously, I did some things right.” Since Ray is only 30, McLemore figures his future with the Angels is limited. He was asked if he expected the Angels to attempt to trade him. “I would think so,” McLemore said. “If (Ray) was 35 or 36, it’d be different. But he’s a young player, and so am I. He’s not a utility player and neither am I. We’ll have to wait and see. I’d like to think I’m a valuable commodity, but I don’t think they (the Angels) see it that way. If they did, I’d still be on the roster, and I’d still be eligible for the playoffs.” . . . Scene: McLemore on the top of the dugout steps, the first to shake Ray’s hand after the game’s final out. . . . Ray’s two doubles gave him a total of 21 this year. Before 1987, Ray was only one of three players to hit 30 or more doubles in each of the past five seasons. The Orioles’ Cal Ripken and the Montreal Expos’ Tim Raines are the others.

Add Ripken: The Oriole shortstop played in his 895th consecutive game Sunday, tying him with Stan Musial for the sixth-longest streak in baseball history. Ripken has also played in 8,127 consecutive innings. . . . When Eric Bell gave up home runs to Tony Armas, Wally Joyner and Brian Downing, the 1987 Oriole pitching staff set a single-season record for home runs allowed--180. The previous record of 177 was set in 1986. . . .Don Sutton’s next shutout would be his 59th, which would place him ninth on the all-time list. Sutton had a shutout going when Angel Manager Gene Mauch replaced him after seven innings. Sutton had made 96 pitches. “After the sixth inning, he’d made 91 pitches,” Mauch said. “I told Don to grind out one more inning, so we would only have to use one guy (relief pitcher). He got out of the seventh with only five pitches.” Mauch added that: “There was never any thought given to him going out another inning. From either him or me.” Sutton, however, smiled when asked if he wanted to stay in the game. “It really doesn’t matter what I think,” he said. “I don’t have too many voting rights in that decision.”