Finley Helps Angels Throw Another Curve at Twins in 2-1 Win

The sudden signs of baseball life in Anaheim shouldn’t be misconstrued or overstated--the Angels remain in sixth place for some very good reasons--but at least the Angels have become a factor in the American League West race again.

Right now, it’s the Bail-Out-the-A’s factor, something the Angels have consistently done since they began playing scheduled games against the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.

The 2-1 triumph Wednesday night over the Twins before 29,050 at Anaheim Stadium was the Angels’ fourth in six outings against Minnesota. Including a mid-month sweep in Kansas City, the Angels are 7-2 in their last nine games against Oakland’s primary challengers in the division.

Thanks to a combined five-hitter by Chuck Finley and Bryan Harvey, the Angels won for the 10th time in 13 games, won their fifth consecutive series and finished June with a record of 15-11--their first winning month of the season.

Only Oakland has benefited more by the Angels’ resurgence. The A’s, despite struggling in June--losing six straight to Kansas City, dropping three of four at home to Minnesota--continue to hold a five-game lead over the second-place Twins and an eight-game advantage over the third-place Royals.

The Angels produced this latest assist with a lot of strong pitching and just enough hitting. Four hits in the third inning gave the Angels their first run. Two singles and an infield out in the sixth inning gave them run No. 2.

Seven innings by Finley and two by Harvey were enough to make those runs stand up, enabling Finley (5-8) to edge Allen Anderson (4-6) and Harvey to earn his eighth save.

Finley four-hit the Twins through seven innings, holding them scoreless for six. Brian Harper’s one-out home run in the seventh inning was the only run Finley allowed.

Before that, Minnesota managed to advance only one runner as far as second base. That came in the fifth, when Greg Gagne reached base on a fielder’s choice and stole second. But after a walk to Al Newman, Finley got Dan Gladden to hit into a force play to end the inning.

Finley left with a lead, however, albeit a tentative one. The Angels scraped together one run in the third inning off Anderson--requiring four hits to do so--and added another in the sixth.

Jack Howell, who batted just once before bruising his right thumb while fielding a sharp ground ball, made the most of his limited opportunity, doubling to right to open the third. Howell then moved to third base on an infield out and scored on a single to center by Johnny Ray.

After a strikeout by Brian Downing, Chili Davis and Wally Joyner followed with back-to-back singles. But because Davis’ was to left field and Joyner’s was a scratch hit to the right side of the infield, Ray could only progress as far as third.

And there he stayed when Tony Armas was called out on strikes with the bases loaded.

To score their second run, the Angels needed just a pair of singles. And Armas was the one who got things started, singling off Anderson with one out in the sixth.

Devon White followed with a broken-bat squib past the left side of the mound, forcing Twin shortstop Gagne to charge and fire to first for the out. Armas took second on the play.

Darrell Miller then delivered his second single of the night, this one to left field, bringing home Armas.

Finley threw just 94 pitches, but in a 2-1 game, with Harvey rested from three days off, Angel Manager Cookie Rojas changed pitchers to start the eighth inning. Rojas made the same move in Texas--replacing Finley with Harvey with two outs in the ninth inning of a 1-0 Angel victory--so this wasn’t a change in pattern.

Nor was the result. Harvey saved his eighth game and lowered his earned-run average to 1.33 by retiring the first four hitters he faced, surrendering a single to Gene Larkin, and then getting pinch-hitter Kent Hrbek to fly out and catcher Harper to ground out.

It was the Angels’ last game of June and, already, they’re playing the role of spoiler. But so far, at least, they’ve got that role down pat.

Angel Notes

Butch Wynegar moved a step closer to retirement Wednesday when the Angels announced that their injured catcher was returning to his home in Longwood, Fla., to rest his right foot “for several weeks.” The arthritic condition in Wynegar’s big right toe wasn’t corrected by surgery in 1987, hasn’t responded to treatment this year and hasn’t been helped by the orthotic supports recently placed in both shoes. Last weekend, a frustrated Wynegar talked about the possibility of getting his release from the Angels so he could return home. Wednesday, he got half his wish. Wynegar, 32, is in the final year of his contract, which pays him $700,000 annually. The Angels, still responsible for most of Bill Buckner’s $400,000 salary, are reluctant to release another highly paid player--and, apparently, are still holding out hope of receiving some return for their investment in Wynegar. “Maybe if we have him stop completely,” said one club official, “we might be able to get him back for a month, a month-and-a-half.” Wynegar has appeared in only 57 games as an Angel--26 this year and 31 last year.

Mark McLemore fielded ground balls for 10 minutes Wednesday, testing his right arm by lightly tossing the ball back to Manager Cookie Rojas, who was hitting the grounders. “There was a little stiffness,” McLemore reported afterward, “but that’s to be expected. It didn’t hurt the way he did before.” McLemore will repeat the procedure today, attempting to throw longer and harder. If that goes well, Rojas said McLemore will be sent to Palm Springs next week to begin a rehabilitative assignment. “I should be ready after the All-Star break, for sure,” McLemore said. . . . Gus Polidor is due to come off the disabled list next week and will accompany the Angels on their upcoming trip to Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland. “He’s ready to go,” Rojas said. “We just have to decide how to get him (on the roster). It depends on how we can open up a spot for him.” Translation: If Dan Petry is physically able to make his next start, set for Monday in Toronto, the Angels can demote a pitcher--most likely Jack Lazorko--and recall Polidor. If not, Rojas will have to keep 11 pitchers and postpone Polidor’s return.

Chili Davis’ Angel record-tying 14 outfield errors were committed in just 76 games, placing him on a 30-error pace this season. The American League record is 31, set by Detroit’s Roy Johnson in 1929. “This is something he can’t explain and we can’t explain,” Rojas tried to explain. “I never thought he had this kind of (track) record in the past. Everybody said he was an average fielder, but 14 errors has shown otherwise. . . . Actually, an outfielder usually makes four or five errors a year. Fourteen is a hell of a lot--and the season’s not even half over.”