Starters’ Success Spells Failure for Angels

While the rest of the Angel pitching staff has been getting rave reviews for its success, reliever Bryan Harvey has been getting ho-hum notices.

Even when Harvey did not allow a run in his first eight appearances and picked up five saves in five opportunities, he got little more than a pat on the back and a nod of approval.

But the success of the Angels’ starting pitchers may be leading to the demise of their premier relief pitcher.

Harvey, making only his third appearance in 15 days, turned in his third consecutive shaky outing Saturday night. He gave up a single, a three-run homer and two walks as the Brewers rallied for a 5-3 victory before a crowd of 34,764 at Anaheim Stadium.

“There’s no question that I’d like to get more work, but the starters have been doing their job,” Harvey said before the game. “I’m throwing the ball well, I’m just not sharp enough to hit the spots I have to hit when I need a strike.

“And when I’m too strong, I try to throw too hard.”

Harvey, against whom 11 of the last 18 batters have reached base, apparently had both problems Saturday night.

Starter Bert Blyleven gave up a leadoff home run to Rob Deer in the eighth inning that made the score 2-2. And when Paul Gantner lined a shot off the glove of third baseman Jack Howell for a single, Manager Doug Rader went to his bullpen ace.

But Harvey, who has been working behind in the count most of the time for the past two weeks, couldn’t produce the kind of magic that carried him to 17 saves and a 2.13 earned-run average last season. Glenn Braggs lined a single to left, and B.J. Surhoff followed with a line-drive homer into the left-field seats.

Harvey then got Terry Francona to ground out, but he walked Bill Spiers and Paul Molitor before Willie Fraser was summoned. Fraser got out of the inning without further damage, but, for Harvey, the doubts remained.

“I think a lot of the problem is in my head,” he said. “I wasn’t throwing it anywhere close to where I wanted to.”

Harvey said he thought he might be having a problem with his arm mechanics, but Rader saw nothing that a few consecutive days of work couldn’t cure.

“We’re in a situation where he’s just not getting enough work to stay sharp,” Rader said, “but I hope we get in a save situation again tomorrow, because Harv will be out there again.

“He’s been getting plenty of exercise in the bullpen but that’s not the same as competitive work. I see no cause for concern. I’m sure his confidence is a little damaged, but not as damaged as yours or mine would be. That’s what makes him special. He’s so resilient.”

Harvey may bounce back, but the Angels couldn’t rebound from the Brewers’ four-run eighth. They scored once in the bottom of the eighth, but the rally faltered when Chili Davis grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Blyleven (4-2) had worked a typical let-’em-get-on-and-leave-’em-there stint for seven innings. The veteran right-hander has pitched into the seventh inning 41 times and has 20 complete games against the Brewers, but his career record against them is 21-15. Saturday night’s outing was a classic Blyleven vs. the Brewers matchup.

Milwaukee left runners in scoring position in four of the first seven innings, and had at least one hit in every inning but the first and ninth. And the Brewers left the bases loaded in the seventh.

Things were looking good for the Angels in the first inning. Devon White hit his third homer in as many nights. And then a power outage at a nearby substation blew out two banks of lights, delaying the game for 16 minutes.

White’s line drive landed in the second deck in right-center field, giving him three home runs in seven at-bats.

The Brewers made the score 1-1 in the second inning. Deer led off with a double down the left-field line and took third on a controversial bunt single by Gantner. He rolled the ball wide of first base, where Wally Joyner picked it up and then made a headlong dive at Gantner, who was making a head-first slide into first.

Television replays clearly showed Joyner’s glove hit Gantner’s foot before the Brewer runner reached the bag, but umpire Dave Phillips ruled Joyner had missed the tag.

Deer would have reached third in any case, and Braggs followed with a deep fly ball to center field to score Deer. Blyleven then escaped the inning without further damage.

Milwaukee starter Don August, who picked up the victory to improve his record to 3-5, retired 15 of 18 Angels from the second through the sixth innings.

The Angels went ahead, 2-1, in the seventh when Lance Parrish hit a towering home run to left-center field. August, from Mission Viejo, gave up two more hits but got out of the inning when Johnny Ray grounded into a double play.

The Angels’ lead, like Harvey’s reputation as a stopper, evaporated in a hurry in the eighth.

“My pitches weren’t even close,” Harvey said. “They were down, out . . . not even close.”

Quick starts aside, if Harvey doesn’t return to form, the Angels may end up down and out, too.

Angel Notes

Veteran right-hander Bert Blyleven’s slightly slanted sense of humor and the dip of his curveball have boosted the Angels’ morale and their record. He has given so many hotfoots this spring that the clubhouse smells like burning leather. And every fifth day, he’s helped ignite the Angels’ return to respectability. Saturday night, the 38-year-old Blyleven was at it again. Blyleven bobbed, weaved, even wavered, but he snapped off enough good curves to hold Milwaukee at bay for seven-plus innings before Bryan Harvey failed in relief. Blyleven gave up 10 hits but stranded eight Brewers in the first seven innings.