Inside Pitch

Between Sept. 2 and last Sunday, Detroit Reliever Aurelio Lopez had been in 45 games, pitched 96 innings, given up only 59 hits, walked 35, struck out 78, gotten 17 saves and had an 8-4 record and a 1.78 ERA.... Since moving up to second in the batting order on June 15, Carlton Fisk of the White Sox has batted .340, lifting his average from .196 to .274.... One of the most remarkable performances this year has been made by Ken Schrom of Minnesota. Schrom, 28, who was 30-35 in the minors the past seven seasons and who was released last August after a brief fling with the Blue Jays, has the only winning record (8-4) among Twins starters, and two of his victories have been against Toronto ace Dave Stieb. One reason for Schrom's turnaround, says Minnesota Catcher Ray Smith, is that he's now "throwing the breaking ball when he's behind on the count." ...Since being called up from the minors on June 25, Mariner Shortstop Spike Owen has hit .276 and has fielded well. Now, about that nickname of his. It's not a nickname: it's his given name and was derived from his mother's maiden name of Spikes.... Since the start of the 1980 season, the Orioles' savvy lefthander, Scott McGregor, has won more games than any other American League pitcher—58. (Yankee lefty Ron Guidry has won 54.) "I've never had a good pitcher who wasn't intelligent," says Pitching Coach Ray Miller. "Scott makes pitching look easy."

Utility Infielder Jim Morrison and Outfielder Lee Lacy have been two of the key contributors during a 14-4 tear that lifted the Pirates from fifth place on July 8 to the top of the National League East last week. Morrison had hit in 18 of the 19 games he started (.394) through last Sunday and led the Bucs with an overall average of .360. And Lacy had batted .461 in his last 20 games.

"You can't be afraid to get jammed" is a common theory among batting coaches, and the Blue Jays' Buck Martinez, enjoying the best year of his career, is a convert to that point of view. Toronto Batting Coach Cito Gaston persuaded Martinez, who started 1983 with a .229 lifetime average, to move closer to the plate in the middle of last season. Martinez, the righthanded half of the Jays' catching platoon, finished with career highs in homers (10) and RBIs (37). Eight of the homers came in the second half of the season.

At the end of last week Martinez, who is 34, was hitting .293 with eight homers and 27 RBIs in only 133 at bats. His slugging average of .581 was 205 points above his previous career high. "Cito got me to be aggressive and not feel for the ball," Martinez says. "When you're up on top of the plate, you have to be aggressive. For the first time in my career I have total confidence in myself."

Reliever Bruce Sutter, who is going through his worst slump since joining the Cardinals in 1981, blew his third and fourth games of the month last week. But it hasn't fazed Manager Whitey Herzog, who said, "He's making a million dollars. If we give up on him, we might as well close the door. We're going to win it or lose it depending on how he pitches." ...To prepare for the likely need of an experienced backup infielder before the season ends, the Cardinals signed Ken Reitz and sent him to AAA ball to get in shape. Reitz, 32, who played eight years in two stints with St. Louis before being traded to the Cubs in 1981, was cut last season by the Pirates and was whiling away his time playing as many as 11 Softball games a week in the St. Louis area when the Cards called him.... Joaquin Andujar of St. Louis has won only two of his last 20 starts and leads both leagues in losses with 13. Now he'd like some divine intervention. "God is still my amigo." Andujar says, "but he must be someplace else. Maybe he's watching the American League. God knows my luck has to change." Then, with an upward glance, he adds, "I'm waiting."

The 11th, 12th and 13th Angels to go on the disabled list this season were Third Baseman Doug DeCinces, who has rib and back troubles, Outfielder Bobby Clark, who dived into the stands trying to glove a home run and came up with a gash in his forehead and a separated right shoulder, and Pitcher Byron McLaughlin, who strained a muscle in his right elbow.... California's Rod Carew, who last week changed his mind and said he won't retire after this season, was in a 7-for-36 slump that dropped his average to .378—only four points better than that of Boston's Wade Boggs.