One Mistake Defeats Angels’ Finley : Indians’ Swindell Wins Duel of Young Left-Handers, 1-0

Chuck Finley and Greg Swindell haven’t had exactly parallel careers, but they both have come a long way in a relatively short time.

Their paths crossed Wednesday night in Anaheim Stadium. And it turned out to be a perfect showcase for the showdown of young left-handers.

Finley, 26, came into Wednesday night’s game against Cleveland with a slight edge in victories (7 to 6) and earned-run average (1.99 to 2.68), but Swindell, 24, closed the gap. He gave up two hits, struck out nine and walked two as the Indians beat the Angels, 1-0, before 26,536 fans.

Finley certainly wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, he made only one mistake, a 1-2 pitch to Luis Medina in the seventh that Medina lofted 385 feet down the left-field line for his fourth homer of the year.

Finley also went the distance, giving up five hits, striking out eight and walking two.

Swindell made 107 pitches, 78 of which were strikes. Finley threw 109 pitches, 76 of them strikes.

“He was just one pitch better,” Finley said. “Sometimes, you have to take a little bow to the pitcher that beat you. Greg Swindell is no slouch.”

Parallel careers. Parallel outings. How about parallel compliments?

“I knew coming into this road trip I had my hands full,” Swindell said. “(Mike) Moore in Oakland and Finley here. I just had an exceptional fastball tonight. That was the difference.”

Actually, the difference was one less-than-exceptional fastball to Medina.

“It was a high heater, but we’d been going up and in on him like that,” said Finley (7-4). “Probably, we did that one too many times, but I don’t want to second-guess myself.

“I know I’m pitching well and I know there will be times when I’ll lose close games.”

Three years ago, it would have been a little hard to predict that Finley and Swindell would be among the league leaders in several pitching categories.

Both were promoted from the minors and made their major league debuts in 1986. In 1987, Finley was 2-7 and Swindell was 3-8, but last season, both served notice of things to come.

Finley was 9-15 with a 4.15 ERA, but he pitched into the seventh inning 21 times, and the struggling Angels scored two or fewer runs in nine of his losses. Swindell was 18-14 with a 3.20 ERA, 12 complete games and four shutouts.

Swindell was better than Finley last year and he was better Wednesday night. The Angels never advanced a runner to second base.

Said Angel Manager Doug Rader: “It was a well-pitched game on both sides. It’s a shame for Finley, but any time you throw a game like that, it’s not a waste.”

Cleveland Manager Doc Edwards saw it in much the same light.

“Greg pitched outstanding, and the other guy was outstanding, too,” Edwards said. “I saw a different (Finley) out there compared to last year. He has a different look on the mound. You can see the confidence in his eyes.”

Swindell (7-1) lost his no-hit bid in the fourth when Devon White bounced one off the plate and the ball caromed pop-fly-high toward the mound. Swindell waited, caught the ball, whirled toward first base and held it when he saw that White had already crossed the bag.

The Angels got a “real” hit in the fifth, however, when Wally Joyner lined a single to center.

Finley needed a little luck--and some good defense behind him--to get out of the third without yielding a run.

With one out, Andy Allanson reached first on an error when shortstop Dick Schofield couldn’t handle his sharply hit ground ball. Jerry Browne followed with a shot toward third, but Glenn Hoffman made a diving stop and threw to second from his knees to force Allanson. Felix Fermin then lined a single to right, and Finley walked Pete O’Brien to load the bases.

But Hoffman saved at least two runs with a leaping stab of Joe Carter’s soft line drive.

“The only real positive thing other than Chuck’s pitching was Glenn’s defense,” Rader said.

And from the Indians’ standpoint, the only real positive thing other than Swindell’s mastery was Medina’s homer.

“It was my first game here in front of the home crowd,” said Medina, who was born in Santa Monica and raised in Downey. “It was really a lot of fun.”

Angel Notes

Left-hander Kyle Abbott, the Angels’ top pick in Monday’s free-agent draft, was at Anaheim Stadium Wednesday afternoon with adviser Alan Meersand to begin contract negotiations. Meersand said the Angels “haven’t made an offer commensurate with what the top left-handed pitchers in last year’s draft received.” Abbott is asking for a figure close to the $207,500 Jim Abbott reportedly got last year, but it doesn’t sound as though the Cal State Long Beach junior is going to be too difficult to sign. “This is like a dream come true for me,” said Abbott, who lives in Mission Viejo. “I could go back to school, but I don’t want to go through the draft again. I’m confident we’ll reach an agreement.” Abbott said he has been an Angel fan since his parents moved to Orange County when he was 4. “My dad’s season tickets are right up there in the front row of the third deck,” he said, pointing to a spot halfway between home plate and first base. “I’ve been coming to Angel games since I was little. I don’t want to go anywhere else.” So much for bargaining power.

Manager Doug Rader has decided to shift rookie Jim Abbott’s next start from Monday to Sunday. Abbott, who missed a turn in the rotation because of tendinitis in his left rotator cuff, will face the Royals in Kansas City Sunday, and right-hander Mike Witt will start in Texas Monday night. “We didn’t want to have Abbott and (Chuck) Finley throw back-to-back in Texas,” Rader said. “It wouldn’t be too bad if you had a couple of left-handers with different styles, but Finley and Abbott throw too much alike.” . . . Rader said that right-hander Rich Monteleone, recalled from triple-A Edmonton Tuesday, will have no set role. “It really depends on what everyone else is doing,” Rader said. “He can close, pitch in the middle or start. He’s been throwing really well lately.”

The last time Dan Petry won a game with Lance Parrish behind the plate before Tuesday night was on May 28, 1986, when they were teammates at Detroit. Petry and the Tigers beat the Angels, 4-1, in Anaheim Stadium. “I didn’t really think about throwing to Lance again until I was out of the game,” Petry said, “but maybe there was a little magic involved.”