Angels : Petry Is Shelled by Cubs During 11-0 Rout, but Cliburn Finishes Nicely

PALM SPRINGS — Although this may be a spring training to remember for Stewart Cliburn, it is fast becoming one to forget for Dan Petry.

The two pitchers continued on different paths Wednesday as Cliburn, once the Angels’ tag-team bullpen partner for closer Donnie Moore, completed another scoreless inning of relief, this time needing just seven pitches--all strikes--to dispatch the Chicago Cubs.

But that was just the ninth inning. The previous eight were marked by hits galore as the Cubs left Angels Stadium with an 11-0 victory.

Petry was responsible for seven of the runs, including a five-run fourth inning that eventually signaled the end of his stay before an out was recorded. That gave Petry a whopping 15.26 earned-run average after three appearances and almost eight innings of work this spring. That makes the Angels a wee bit nervous.

“It’s getting to the point where his stuff is good enough,” said Angel pitching coach Marcel Lachemann. “He’s just making too many mistakes.”

Petry missed about two weeks of spring training because of a mildly herniated disk in his lower back. His first outing lasted 1 innings, thanks mainly to five hits, six runs--two earned--and three walks. The next time out, Petry went three innings, allowed seven hits and four earned runs, but pronounced himself fit, optimistic and encouraged.

Not Wednesday. This time, Petry could find little solace in another poor performance.

“I’m not real pleased,” he said. “The other times I felt that I accomplished something. (Wednesday,) I didn’t accomplish anything. The only thing I can say is that I felt good.”

Petry threw 70 pitches during his three-plus innings. Before game’s beginning, Angel coaches were prepared to let him reach the 80-pitch mark. But that was before the Cubs began lining Petry’s pitches to all corners of the field.

Reasons for the troublesome spring are unclear. Petry said his curveball and changeup have yet to arrive. And often, especially Wednesday, his pitches were conveniently up in the strike zone. As for explanations, Petry is at a loss.

For instance, the 2-week absence theory is tempting, but not altogether reliable. This is the one that says that Petry’s back injury caused him to fall behind schedule.

“I wish I could say that, but it doesn’t do me any good. I wish I could say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s why.’

“I don’t feel like every time I go out there I’m going to get the crap knocked out of me. It’s just not the way I feel. But I’d like to be able to get a few more people out.”

As Petry struggles, Cliburn shines. And even though Wednesday’s appearance was in the final inning of a blowout game, Cliburn still has established himself as a likely favorite to make the team, something he couldn’t do the previous two years.

“I knew I had to show the form I showed three years ago in ‘85,” Cliburn said. “I felt good coming into spring training. I felt strong. Of course, I had to work hard to get back, but I feel like I’m there.”

Cliburn has 10 innings to show for his spring and only two earned runs. Also making Cliburn’s performances more attractive, is the uncertain condition of Angel relievers Donnie Moore and Greg Minton, both of whom are trying to overcome elbow injuries.

“Cliburn?” Lachemann said. “He got seven pitches and three outs. He didn’t throw a ball. He was excellent again.”

Three years ago, Cliburn was good enough to become Moore’s late-inning setup man. He finished the 1985 season with a glowing 9-3 record and a 2.09 ERA. Meanwhile, Moore collected a career-high 31 saves.

The following spring, Cliburn was hampered by shoulder bursitis and was sent to the Triple-A team at Edmonton. He spent most of the year on the disabled list and later had surgery to remove fragments from the area.

Last season was no different. Again, Cliburn found himself on the disabled list and at Edmonton, this time with forearm and shoulder problems.

Now Cliburn, though he won’t admit it, is a virtual lock to make the 24-man roster. And if the Angels do keep him, Cliburn said he had no idea what his role would be. All he cares about is a mailing address that includes Anaheim.

“I’m just going out and trying to make a ballclub, pitch well and let all that other stuff take care of itself.”

The Angels and converted outfielder Johnny Ray are “very close” to completing a deal that would add an option year to his present contract, Tom Selakovich, Ray’s agent, said Wednesday evening.

Ray, dismayed with the Angels’ decision to move him from second base to left field this season, had requested a contract extension as a form of compensation for the position switch. The two sides, Selakovich said, have been negotiating since last October to complete such a deal.

“We’ve agreed in principle almost totally: on the language (of the contract) . . . everything,” Selakovich said. “There’s one minute detail that needs to be worked in the contract.”

Angel Notes

For only the third time in 23 spring games, the Angels were shut out and there were few Angel highlights to speak of. Johnny Ray had two singles. Gus Polidor, starting at third base in place of Jack Howell, also had two hits, and Mark Ryal and Devon White each had singles.