Morris Looks Strong, but Angel Pitchers Are Stronger in 1-0 Win

Somewhere, Cookie Rojas is reading the Angel box scores every day and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Sure, the Angels have a new, bolder halo on their caps, but perhaps the former Angel manager is figuring these guys are truly blessed . . . or just on a roll that has to end.

Can this be the same pitching staff that was 8-13 with a 5.03 earned-run average after 21 games last year?

Can this be the same bullpen that blew eight of 13 save opportunities last April while Rojas grimaced and gnashed his teeth on the bench?

Most of the names are the same, but the results are clearly different. Wednesday night in Anaheim Stadium, Chuck Finley, Greg Minton and Bryan Harvey combined to shut out the Tigers, 1-0, in front of 23,334.

The Angels managed only four hits off Detroit’s Jack Morris, but one of them was Brian Downing’s third home run of the year and that was enough to send Morris down to his fifth consecutive loss without a victory, marking the only time in his career that he has been five games under .500.

“We’ve got a lot of good pitchers on this team that people have overlooked,” said Harvey, who gained his fourth save of the season. “As soon as our offense picks up, we’ll be in good shape.”

Harvey admittedly was not on the top of his game Wednesday, but he got the final out of the eighth inning--after walking pinch-hitter Matt Nokes to load the bases--and the last three batters he faced after yielding a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Pat Sheridan in the ninth.

“Harv’s the kind of pitcher who has to force the ball up there,” Manager Doug Rader said. “It’s the nature of his delivery. But he’s got two great pitches (fastball and forkball) and even when he’s not perfect, he can do the job.”

But then everyone who took the mound for the Angels did his job.

Finley, who could have sued his teammates for lack of support last season, might have hung around longer than six innings if the Angels had provided him with a bit more of a margin. The Angels scored two or fewer runs in nine of Finley’s 15 losses last season.

Finley did throw 103 pitches in this six-inning stint. He gave up four singles and a double, but scattered them nicely, allowing only one hit each in the second through the sixth innings. He struck out five and walked four.

“I don’t look at just the pitch count,” Rader said of his decision to bring in Minton to pitch the seventh. “I look at how much a guy has had to pitch under duress. It was a close game, he was under a lot of stress and he was starting to get his pitches up a little.”

The Tigers didn’t get a runner to second base until the fifth inning when catcher Mike Heath hit a single to left and stole second. Heath, who had one stolen base in each of the last two seasons, took off for second on a hit-and-run play with Torey Lovullo at the plate. Lovullo swung and missed and Heath stopped halfway to second, expecting to be out by 20 feet. But Lance Parrish dropped the ball, and, by the time he had picked it up, Heath had his steal for 1989.

Finley eventually walked Lovullo, but struck out Ken Williams and Gary Ward and got Lou Whitaker to fly to right to end the inning.

Detroit got a runner to third in the sixth. Chris Brown hit a double to right-center with one out and advanced to third on a groundout, but Heath flied out to center.

“I had good command and I was moving it around the plate pretty good,” Finley said. “I wanted to stay out there.”

Minton yielded a single to Ward in the seventh and then gave up back-to-back singles to Brown and Chet Lemon with one out. Pinch-hitter Fred Lynn belted a drive to deep right-center, but Claudell Washington ran it down and pitching coach Marcel Lachemann hustled out to the mound to signal for Harvey.

Morris, who hasn’t pitched with a lead all season, had to get pitcher of the game honors, though. The veteran right-hander, who is the winningest pitcher of the 1980s, was a little shaky in the early going, but the Angels managed only two hits after the second inning.

“Jack really got in a good rhythm,” Rader said. “I don’t know how he got to 0-5 because I’ve never seen him pitch bad. This time, he got tougher and tougher as the game went on.

“Brian caught him early, when everyone was able to sit on the fastball. And it’s a good thing he did, or this one would still be going.”

Downing, who has been hitting in the fourth spot as much as leadoff recently, led off the second inning with a drive to left that landed in the seats beyond the 370 sign in the power alley.

The Angels had a chance to really stagger Morris in the inning. A single by Wally Joyner and walks to Chili Davis and Jack Howell loaded the bases with one out, but Glenn Hoffman grounded into a double play.

So, while the Angel offense continues to sputter, the pitching staff is running on all cylinders.

The only question now is will they begin to crumble as they did under Cookie?

Angel Notes

Shortstop Dick Schofield, who is on the disabled list with a strain/minor tear of a right chest muscle, took batting practice and some ground balls Wednesday. Schofield said he didn’t think he would be ready to play when he’s eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday, but was hoping to make the Angels’ trip to Baltimore, Toronto and Detroit, which begins Tuesday. Schofield says he has no problem fielding or swinging the bat, but still feels discomfort when throwing. “I threw a few across the infield and it was a little tight,” he said. “Ready in a week? I doubt it.” . . . Manager Doug Rader said he hopes to be able to make a decision on both Schofield and Tony Armas, who is sidelined with a strained hamstring, before leaving for Baltimore on Monday. “Tony’s real close,” Rader said. “It would be nice to have things settled before going on the trip.”