Unconventional Is Typical in Angels’ 6-2 Defeat

The manager they call Cookie works in mysterious ways, and during the early innings of the Angels’ 6-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins Thursday night at Anaheim Stadium, the unconventional Mr. Rojas was at it again.

There was that third-inning intentional walk to Minnesota’s Jim Dwyer--with two outs and a runner on second base--that helped increase the Twins’ 2-0 lead to 3-0 when the next batter, Brian Harper, delivered a run-scoring single.

Then there was Rojas’ decision to play the infield in with Randy Bush on third with no outs in the fifth inning of a 3-0 game. The next batter, Kirby Puckett, singled under the glove of drawn-in second baseman Johnny Ray, and the Angels’ deficit grew to 4-0.

Strange moves, indeed.

But nothing Rojas did in this game, or the other 153 he has managed, could quite match what would happen in the seventh inning, when Rojas walked out to the mound to talk with pitcher Rich Monteleone--moments after Angel pitching coach Marcel Lachemann had done the same.

Baseball rules allow one visit to the mound per inning by a coach or manager. Venture out there twice and you must change pitchers.

But after chatting briefly with Monteleone, Rojas spun on his heels and returned to the dugout, leaving Monteleone on the pitcher’s rubber--apparently having forgotten Lachemann’s visit in the same inning.

The umpires hadn’t, however. Surrounding Monteleone on the mound before he could throw another pitch, they signaled for Rojas to come on out again--this time to exit with his pitcher.

And this is how Rojas came about removing Monteleone, who had allowed just 1 hit in 2-plus innings of relief, and summoning Stewart Cliburn as his replacement.

Rojas admitted to losing track of that all-important category, “times visited mound,” when he set out to talk things over with Monteleone.

“I saw a man at second base (Dwyer), and I wanted to talk about his (pitch) location to the next hitter,” Rojas said. “It just slipped my mind.”

Cliburn and then Sherman Corbett were called upon to finish what Terry Clark (6-6) started. Clark lasted only 4-plus innings, surrendering 5 runs on 12 hits. Since tying Bo Belinsky’s club record for best start by a rookie pitcher--5-0--Clark has lost 6 of 7 decisions and has not won since Aug. 27.

Meanwhile, the Twins’ Allan Anderson (15-9) cruised through 8 innings, yielding 7 hits and 1 earned run, before giving way to reliever Jeff Reardon in the ninth.

The Angels wound up with their fourth straight defeat, dropping them 4 games under .500.

Angel Notes

Angel outfielder Thad Bosley will soon be able to compare surgeon’s scars with pitcher Bryan Harvey. Harvey began the day by undergoing what the Angels termed “successful arthroscopic surgery” to remove two bone chips in his right arm. The surgery was performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood. The Angels then announced that Bosley would also undergo a similar procedure Monday to remove bone chips in his left elbow. Bosley hasn’t had an at-bat since Aug. 30 because of the elbow irritation, appearing only as a pinch-runner 4 times. In 34 games with the Angels, Bosley batted .260 with no home runs and 7 runs batted in. Bosley hit .260 with 9 RBIs this season. . . . Bob Boone started Thursday night’s game but lasted only 2 innings before his sore left thigh cramped on him again.