It’s No Sweat as Finley, Angels Beat Tigers, 7-3

DETROIT —  For distance, there was no beating Cecil Fielder’s seventh-inning home run into the upper deck at Tiger Stadium Sunday. It traveled at least 400 feet through the hazy, humid air.

“I waved to it,” Angel pitcher Chuck Finley said of Fielder’s major league-leading 25th home run. “I wanted to see where that baby hit. That ball got out of there quicker than we’re gonna get to Chicago.”

But for efficiency, there was no beating the Angels, who won, 7-3--despite getting only four hits.

One of the four hits was Lance Parrish’s fifth-inning grand slam, which allowed Finley to joke about Fielder’s home run.

“Fielder hit it out twice,” said Finley, who has won seven of his last eight decisions and is 10-3. “It got to the fence, and he hit it again. That thing didn’t have time to hang.”

Finley hung in for three more batters, yielding a home run to Jim Lindeman, a single to Tracy Jones and a run-scoring double to Scott Lusader before the “dripping weather” got to him.

Finley has lasted into the seventh inning or longer in 11 of his 13 starts.

“With a 7-0 lead, the main thing in your mind is to challenge the hitters,” said Finley, who five times has won games after an Angel loss. He stopped a three-game Angel losing streak; previously he had halted two four-game losing streaks and one five-game skid. “It was so humid out there, but I’m not going to make excuses,” he said. “I felt fortunate to get that deep into the game.”

Told that his father had watched the game on television at home in Monroe, La., Finley joked, “If he watches close enough, the ball Fielder hit out might land in his backyard.”

Playing in the Tigers’ yard, the Angels held Fielder to two hits in 12 at-bats over three games and struck him out six times. Finley got him swinging twice Sunday before his home run.

“I’m going to have streaks where I don’t see the ball well,” said Fielder, who also leads the major leagues with 61 runs batted in. “I stayed back well that time. But I’ve got to do it more than once in a series.”

Parrish’s home run came off Lance McCullers, who had replaced Brian DuBois (3-5) after DuBois walked two batters. Wally Joyner hit an RBI single and Dave Winfield walked to load the bases for Parrish. Parrish’s 12th home run of the season was the seventh grand slam of his career and the 100th homer of his career at Tiger Stadium, the place he called home for 10 seasons.

“I like coming back here,” said Parrish, who hit a home run against Dan Petry Friday and has hit five homers in his last 11 games. “I wish it wasn’t as hot as it was.”

Parrish has hit in 12 of his last 13 games, going 14 for 48 in that span (.292) for an overall average of .285. “I feel pretty good at the plate, confident and pretty comfortable,” he said.

“I’m at the point where I get pretty upset when I swing at a bad pitch. I only got one hit today, but I made the most of it.”

Bryan Harvey made the most of what he considered a chance at redemption. Harvey, who had walked in Detroit’s winning run in the 10th inning Friday, relieved Mark Eichhorn Sunday after Eichhorn had given up consecutive singles to pinch-hitters Dave Bergman and Larry Sheets. Harvey walked Lusader, but used his forkball to strike out Mark Salas and Lou Whitaker and Lloyd Moseby flied to left.

“You’re going to get beat every now and then, but it’s different when the other team beats you by getting a hit instead of you beating yourself,” said Harvey, who got his eighth save. “You shouldn’t walk four guys in one inning and get beat. . . . You always think about the ones you lose, and I was glad to get out there again so soon.”

Sooner or later, Finley is going to have to think about winning 20 games. “I don’t even want to think about it,” said Finley, who was 7-5 after 13 starts last season and went on to win 16 games. “The only thing on my mind today was 10. I just try to be consistent. . . . Everything kind of got on a roll for me early. I’ve had only two outings that can be classified as bad, but the other times I’ve been consistent in getting late into the ballgame. I feel fortunate to get on this roll and I hope I stay on it.”

Angel Notes

Dick Schofield, batting leadoff for the first time this season, reached base his first four times up Sunday and scored twice. He had a single and two walks and was hit by a pitch before being retired on a fly to shallow left in the ninth. Schofield scored the game’s first run on Brian DuBois’ wild pitch.

“I feel comfortable in that position,” said Schofield, who led off occasionally last season. “I don’t approach it any differently. I just go up there and take my hacks. You get an extra at-bat in every game, so you want to take advantage of it if you can.”

Mark Eichhorn made his league-leading 32nd appearance when he relieved Chuck Finley in the seventh, but he didn’t finish. Eichhorn was replaced by Bryan Harvey in the ninth after giving up consecutive singles.

“I shouldn’t have let both Finley and Eichhorn stay out so long because it was very muggy,” Angel pitching coach Marcel Lachemann said. “I shouldn’t have let Eichhorn go back out there (for the ninth), but I knew he wouldn’t beat himself. Bryan came in and did a great job.”

Devon White batted ninth for the third consecutive day, a move Manager Doug Rader made to “alleviate some pressure” on White at the plate. In the series, White had a double, a home run and two walks. “It’s just another spot in the batting order, that’s how I look at it,” said White, who is batting .209.

Kirk McCaskill, scheduled to start Tuesday in Chicago after missing a start because of elbow problems, said his elbow feels fine. . . . Jack Howell is one for 19 since returning from the disabled list. . . . Schofield’s single left him four for 28 since returning from the DL.