Collins Is Ready to Be Impressed

The Angels have seen Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Randy Johnson, but very few have seen the likes of Boston right-hander Pedro Martinez, who will face Chuck Finley tonight in Edison Field.

Manager Terry Collins, who spent three years in Houston while Martinez pitched in Montreal, saw enough of the hard-throwing right-hander to know that tonight might not be a very pleasant experience.

“He’s got great stuff, he throws 95 mph, he has a change-up from hell, a good slider, you can’t run on him,” Collins said. “Anything else?”

Well, there is Martinez’s 1997 National League Cy Young Award, which he won after going 17-8 with a 1.90 earned run average and 305 strikeouts. And Wednesday’s American League debut, when he gave up three hits and struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings of a 2-0 victory over Oakland.

“He has such great stuff you can’t go up there looking for anything,” Collins said. “You’ve got to hit the fastball and adjust to the breaking stuff. He has great command. For a guy who throws as hard as he does, he sure knows where it’s going.”

Only three Angels have faced Martinez: Dave Hollins hitting .143 (one for 7), Carlos Garcia .273 (six for 22) and utility player Craig Shipley .429 (three for 7).

“You’ve got to be aggressive, because he’s aggressive,” Shipley said. “He comes right after you and throws strikes.”

Reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa took a pounding Saturday, giving up four runs on six hits in three innings of an 11-0 loss to the Indians, but Collins didn’t keep him in the game as some kind of punishment.

Collins was simply managing a blowout loss with an eye toward a potential victory, going with Hasegawa as long as he could and saving the key members of his bullpen, Troy Percival and Mike Holtz.

“Many years ago, Walter Alston gave me a piece of advice I never forgot,” Collins said. “He said there are going to be nights when you get your butt kicked, and you’ll want to save face by making all these moves and burning your bullpen.

“He said to sit back, take your lumps and move on. It’s especially hard at home, because you’re going to get booed and ripped by some people, but the next night, you might have someone available to help you win a game, so that’s what you have to do.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Boston Red Sox, three games.

* Site--Edison Field

* Tonight--7

* TV--Fox Sports West, Tuesday night

* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 2-3, Red Sox 3-2.

* 1997 record vs. Red Sox--6-5.

TONIGHT’S GAME

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs. RED SOX’S PEDRO MARTINEZ (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

* Update--Phil Nevin, who has been sharing catching duties with Matt Walbeck, has a tender shoulder that will prevent him from playing defense for another day or two. After the Angels face Martinez tonight, they’ll have to face knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who has a 4-3 career record and 3.38 ERA against the Angels, Tuesday night. “There’s a little difference in stuff, huh?” Collins said.

* Tuesday, 7 p.m.--Ken Hill (1-0, 0.00) vs. Tim Wakefield (0-0, 4.76).

* Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.--Jack McDowell (0-1, 6.43) vs. Derek Lowe (0-1, 9.00).