Witt Loses Battle of 3-Hitters : Saberhagen Beats Angels’ Ace, 1-0, for His 11th Win

KANSAS CITY — It’s not often that the Angels have a chance to beat Bret Saberhagen, so when they squander a chance, it’s enough to put an already ailing Gene Mauch in a foul mood.

The Angel manager was steamed Friday night after the Kansas City Royals’ 1-0 victory before a crowd of 35,415 at Royals Stadium.

He called a postgame team meeting and, suffice it to say, it wasn’t to discuss Saberhagen’s three-hitter, which improved the right-hander’s record to 11-1, the best in the major leagues.

What was the agenda?

“I had something to say and I said it,” Mauch told a reporter, “and it’s none of your (bleeping) business.”

A few minutes later, though, he tipped his hand to a larger group of reporters.

“You can call this anything you want,” he said, “but the guy who pitched the best game tonight didn’t win.”

His referance was to Angel starter Mike Witt, whose own three-hitter resulted in a frustrating loss when George Brett, returning to the lineup for the first time since May 15, doubled home Kevin Seitzer in the fourth inning.

Saberhagen and the injury plagued Brett, both making their 12th starts of the season, ganged up to improve Saberhagen’s career record against the Angels to 6-1 with a 1.26 earned-run average.

But Mauch thought they got some unsolicited help from the Angels.

Wally Joyner led off the fourth by stretching a single through the box into a double, but was left stranded when Mark Ryal struck out, Ruppert Jones flied deep to right and Mark McLemore struck out.

In the seventh, Royal right fielder Danny Tartabull misplayed Jack Howell’s single into a one-out triple, but Joyner followed with a soft line drive to second base and Ryal flied to center.

“We win the game, 2-1, with groundball outs,” Mauch said. “It’s hard to impress that on young players. It used to be just as much a source of pride to win a game that way as it was to win with a three-run homer.

“When you’ve got a chance to win against a pitcher like that, you’ve got to take advantage of it. I don’t see us racking him around too often.”

Witt (7-5) didn’t allow another hit after Brett bounced his double off the wall in right-center field, retiring 15 of the last 17 batters he faced and finishing with six strikeouts while walking only one.

It was his third straight complete game and sixth in 14 starts, but the strong effort wasn’t enough on a night when the Angels squandered their infrequent chances against Saberhagen.

Saberhagen has now won seven times following Royal losses, and the shutout, his second of the season, improved his league-leading ERA to 2.00.

Clearly, the 23-year-old from Cleveland High in Reseda has regained the form that helped him win the Cy Young Award with a 20-6 record in 1985, when he also was named MVP of the World Series after blanking the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh game.

He didn’t seem affected by an 86-minute delay from wind and rain in the second inning.

He struck out eight, didn’t walk any and, beside the hits by Joyner and Howell, yielded only an eighth-inning single to Mark McLemore.

Last season, when he fell to 7-12 in an injury riddled season, one writer suggested that he’d gone from Cy Young to die young.

But it took him only nine starts to surpass his win total of a year ago and now he is ahead of the pace set by Denny McLain when the former Detroit Tiger right-hander was 31-6 in 1968.

McLain didn’t win his 11th until June 16. Saberhagen, with a little help from the Angels, did it four days earlier.

“This is about as good as it gets,” Saberhagen said. “I’ve been going a few games without my breaking ball, but tonight it was one of those nights that it was A-plus stuff.”

Angel Notes

George Brett, who has already been on the disabled list twice this season, said he is too young to become a full-time designated hitter. “I think I’d have better offensive years,” said the 11-time All-Star third baseman, who turned 34 last month, “but I DH’d a couple of times last year and I didn’t even feel like I was playing in the game. I’d be in the clubhouse watching a football game or something on TV and somebody would run in and say, ‘You’re on deck,’ and I’d run out and not even know who was pitching.” . . . Angel Manager Gene Mauch, who had a 102-degree fever Thursday, said he felt better Friday. “I think it’s improved to lousy,” he said of his condition. . . . Bud Black, who had been scheduled to pitch tonight, was placed on the 21-day disabled list by the Royals. He’ll have arthoscopic surgery Monday to repair a tear in the cartilage in his right knee. . . . On July 3, the Royals will retire No. 10, which was worn by former Manager Dick Howser. It will be the first number retired by the Royals. . . . The Royals signed free agent pitcher Bob Shirley, who was released by the New York Yankees. . . . When Denny McLain went 31-6 for Detroit in 1968 he made 41 starts. Saberhagen probably will make only 32 or 33. . . . In his last three starts, Witt has lowered his earned-run average from 4.52 to 3.54.