The White Sox`s Ron Kittle and Floyd Bannister had something in common before Thursday night`s game against Baltimore at Comiskey Park.
Both were trying to do something they hadn`t done since June. For Kittle, it was to play left field. For Bannister, it was to win a game.
Kittle played left field, but Bannister suffered his fourth straight loss after pitching brilliantly for 7 2/3 innings.
With two outs in the eighth, Bannister (5-8) walked Alan Wiggins, Lee Lacy and Cal Ripken before Eddie Murray cleared the bases with the 11th grand slam of his career to break a 1-1 tie and propel the Orioles to a 5-1 victory in front of 17,275 fans.
Oriole starter Mike Flanagan (1-1), recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, pitched eight innings of three-hit ball before giving way to Sammy Stewart in the ninth. The left-hander no-hit the Sox for four innings before Carlton Fisk blooped a double down the left-field line to open the fifth.
After Kittle popped out in his second unsuccessful at-bat in the game, and heard a chorus of boos, Greg Walker doubled in Fisk thanks to wet grass.
The game began 19 minutes late because of a rainstorm. Areas of the warning track were flooded by water and the grass was very slippery.
So Oriole right-fielder Lacy soft-pedaled after Walker`s hit, which splashed up at a funny angle and bounded off his glove. There was no error assessed.
Walker reached third on a ground out and almost scored the go-ahead run when Julio Cruz hit a sharp grounder, but second baseman Wiggins made a nice stop and threw out Cruz.
Cruz may see more playing time at second the way he is playing now. He made an excellent play Thursday, running to short center on a pop fly and skidding for the catch.
First baseman Walker also contributed a heady defensive play. After fielding Mike Young`s grounder in the seventh, he had to slide into first to get his foot on the bag ahead of the runner.
Shortstop Scott Fletcher had what should have been an easy pop-up to end the seventh turn into an adventure. Pop-ups were being lost in the fog for a while, but Fletcher kept his eye on the ball and made the catch.
The slippery grass didn`t stop center-fielder John Shelby from making a fine catch in the sixth that might have saved the Orioles from falling behind. Mark Gilbert was at second base after he walked and Fletcher had bunted him to scoring position. Luis Salazar hit a liner to center and Shelby needed to run in fast to make the play.
Fred Lynn, the regular Oriole center-fielder, was out of the lineup because he has a low lifetime batting average against Bannister. He was also resting a sprained ankle.
Kittle`s right shoulder injury had prevented him from playing left field since June 20. He returned Thursday from Buffalo after ending a 21-day disabled list sentence.
All Kittle had to do early Thursday was stand in left. Bannister was so good he held the power-hitting Orioles to two outfield outs in the first three innings.
It was a good omen for a pitcher who last won a game June 10. In his last seven starts, the left-hander was 0-3.
Kittle finally got some business in the fourth. Wiggins led off with the first hit of the game, a double to the corner in left.
Wiggins scored without the Orioles advancing him with a hit. Bannister made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt at second. It went into center and moved Wiggins to third.
Wiggins then scored on a pitch that got past catcher Marc Hill. It was scored a passed ball, but the pitch was outside and in the dirt.
With two out in the fourth, Bannister`s control became shaky. He pitched carefully to Murray and walked him and then walked Gary Roenicke.
He was a pitch away from loading the bases on walks when he went to a 3-1 count on Young. But Young eventually struck out.
Before the fourth, Roenicke was the only Oriole to reach base. But, after a one-out walk to Roenicke in the second, Young rolled into a double play.
In the third, Flanagan almost gave up a double similar to Wiggins`, but Hill`s shot fell foul in the left-field corner and he eventually struck out.
