Angel Notebook : McCaskill Problem Resolved

For Gene Mauch, the enthusiasm over Kirk McCaskill's return was tempered by the Angels' fourth loss in five spring games, a 10-9 defeat to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings. Angel reliever Chuck Finley let a 9-7 lead slip away in the bottom of the ninth, and Marty Reed wound up the loser in the 10th after surrendering an RBI single by Brian Dayett. "If Chuck Finley had gotten the side out in the ninth, it would've been a perfect day for the old dude," Mauch said. . . . The loss, however, could not dull the hitting of Devon White, who is beginning to conjure up images of another spring by another rookie named Wally. White went 4 for 4 with a sacrifice fly and a walk, scoring two runs and driving in two more. He has eight hits in his last eight official plate appearances and 11 in his last 17 at-bats. For the spring, White is batting .524 (11 for 21). "Nobody is that good," Mauch said, "but this is a great indication of what he is capable of doing." Included among White's hits: a shallow single to center that he turned into a double and a sharp grounder to deep shortstop that he beat out for a single. . . . Wally Joyner drove in two runs with a double and a single. Butch Wynegar added a two-run single, and Jack Howell had a run-scoring double. . . . Brian Downing appeared as a pinch-hitter after getting hit on the left elbow twice by pitches Monday. He flied out but was not forced to sit out. "An ordinary person would be in the hospital," Mauch said, "but he's all right."