Pettis Puts End to Niekro No-Hit Bid in 8th : Two-Out Double Only Angel Hit; Yankees Get 18 and an 11-0 Win

The New York Yankees finally ran out of left-handed starting pitchers to throw at the Angels, so Wednesday night, they came up with next best thing.

A Niekro.

Last year, the Angels had their fill of Phil. En route to his 300th career victory, Phil Niekro went 3-0 against California without allowing an earned run.

Wednesday night, the Angels saw younger brother Joe, recently imported from the National League, and not only were they shut out again, they barely avoided becoming the first no-hit victims of 1986.

Had it not been for Gary Pettis’ double to right field with two out in the bottom of the of eighth inning, Joe Niekro’s 11-0 victory before an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 39,676 would have doubled the Niekro family’s no-hitter collection.

Phil recorded the first, back in 1973. More than a decade later, Joe was attempting to deadlock this sibling rivalry. After 7 innings, his quest was still alive.

But on a 2-1 knuckleball to Pettis, Niekro, 41, lost his bid to (1) become the oldest pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter and (2) make the Niekros the second no-hit brother combination, joining Bob and Ken Forsch.

Pettis hit a line drive down the right-field line that no Yankee had a chance to glove. It was a double, a clean hit, the only one of the evening for the Angels.

Until then, the Angels had managed five baserunners against Niekro (6-3)--three via walks (Pettis once and Reggie Jackson twice) and two via errors (Wally Joyner and Dick Schofield).

Once history was no longer being made, Niekro didn’t even stick around to finish the game. After retiring Joyner for the third out of the inning, Niekro retired for the night. He had thrown 134 pitches--a heavy load for a pitcher of his years. Manager Lou Piniella replaced Niekro with Al Holland, who put the Angels down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

“That’s the best I’ve ever seen Joe Niekro pitch,” said Angel Manager Gene Mauch, who watched Niekro for several years from the dugout of the Montreal Expos. “And I saw him strike out the first five hitters of a game once.

“If it isn’t one Niekro, it’s another.”

Joe Niekro admitted he was thinking no-hitter. “Hell, I knew about it in the first inning,” he said.

“After the sixth, I was going to throw knuckleballs exclusively. With that kind of lead, it was time to go for it.”

Niekro said the pitch to Pettis was a “knuckleball, down and in. I can’t second-guess myself. I know they’re looking knuckleball, but at least, he hit my best pitch.”

Pettis shrugged it off.

“Breaking up a no-hitter is fine and dandy, but I was just trying to iron things out for myself,” he said. “I was just at the right place at the right time.”

After the hit, reserve catcher Ron Hassey ran to the mound. “It was a lot of fun while it lasted,” he told Niekro. “Could you imagine the papers tomorrow, saying me catching a no-hitter with your knuckleball?”

Niekro, who struck out five, had come even closer once before, in 1970. Pettis was 12 years old then and Niekro was with the Detroit Tigers, his third of six teams. The opponents that day were the New York Yankees. Horace Clark ended Niekro’s bid with a single with two out in the ninth inning.

Dave Winfield made it a short night for Angel starter Ron Romanick (3-3), delivering his ninth and 10th home runs of the season in his first two at-bats.

The first gave the Yankees, who ended the evening with 18 hits, a quick 1-0 lead. The second gave Romanick something to think about. No doubt, it’s one he and Winfield will remember for some time.

A baseball cannot be struck with much more force. It was a wicked line drive all the way, from the plate to the seats, barely climbing high enough to clear the left-field fence.

And Winfield hit it with two runners on base, giving New York a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning.

Singles by Mike Easler and Dan Pasqua spelled the end for Romanick and opened the Angels’ bullpen gate for a procession of rookie relievers.

First up, Chuck Finley. He pitched the Angels out of the third inning but was hurt in the fifth by three Yankee singles and Dick Schofield’s first error of the season. With runners on first and second, Schofield tried to turn a double play on a grounder by Mike Pagliarulo but threw the ball away. Pagliarulo wound up safe at first, and Hassey scored to make it 5-0.

Next up, Todd Fischer. He got caught up in a three-run Yankee seventh inning. Consecutive doubles by Hassey and Pasqua produced one run, followed by RBI singles by Willie Randolph and Mike Fischlin.

Next up, T.R. Bryden. Bryden got Winfield out, but got sloppy with Easler. With Don Mattingly on base, Easler hit his fifth home run of the year, giving New York a 10-0 advantage.

Angel Notes

Having completed his 20-day rehabilitation assignment at Midland, Urbano Lugo was recalled by the Angels Wednesday and is expected to be reassigned today to Edmonton. Lugo attempted to make four starts for Midland but lost one to the weather and another to power failure. He made his last start Tuesday and pitched 6 innings in Midland’s 5-0 victory over Beaumont, allowing 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3. Lugo’s totals at Midland: 1-1, 11 innings, 9 hits, 1 earned run, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts. “He looked very good,” Angel Manager Gene Mauch said, “but he’s not quite ready.” Said General Manager Mike Port: “At least, he’s healthy. The other night was his longest stint so far, and there was no problem with the arm, so that is good news. He just needs to be on the mound.” . . . Mauch said he had “no idea” when Lugo, who made 20 appearances with the Angels in 1985, might return to Anaheim. “I want the guys we have now to pitch so damn good that we’re not looking for help,” he said.

Wally Joyner, who began Wednesday below .300 (.298) for the first time since April 10, went 0 for 4 to extend his hitless streak to 11 at-bats, equaling his longest slump of the season. . . . The struggles of Gary Pettis continue. After committing four errors and being caught stealing nine times in 1985, Pettis is already closing in on both figures before the 1986 season is one-third complete. Pettis is currently 9 for 17 in stolen-base attempts, and his mishandling of Mike Fischlin’s pop fly in the third inning was his third error of the season. . . . The Angels signed three of their selections in Monday’s free-agent draft, including first-round choices Lee Stevens and Terence Carr. Stevens, a first baseman-outfielder, batted .415 for Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kan. Carr, an outfielder for Bennett High in Salisbury, Md., hit .439 and stole 23 bases in 23 attempts. The Angels also signed switch-hitting outfielder David Grilione.