For Starters, He Pleads the Fifth : Angels: Finley cruises through four innings before allowing Dodgers two runs on four hits in the fifth.

In this shortened spring, goals and expectations have been inconstant things.

How long should pitchers be expected to go? Who could know? After the 32-day lockout, the careful routines and plotted progress of past springs haven’t meant much.

The goal for Angel left-hander Chuck Finley was to go five or six innings in his start against the Dodgers Friday night in the first game of the Freeway Series at Anaheim Stadium.

His first regular-season start was four days away; six innings would be good, Angel Manager Doug Rader said before the game.

“He’ll go five for sure and hopefully six,” Rader said.

He went five, cruising along until the fifth, when he gave up two runs on four hits.

“He tired in the fifth,” Rader said. “But his arm strength’s getting close.”

Through four innings, Finley didn’t give up a hit, allowing just two walks in the fourth.

But the fifth inning came, and Finley’s arm went.

It was not so very much different from Finley’s last outing, when he went 4 1/3 innings against the Padres Monday in Palm Springs. He started out well in that game, too, but by the fifth, he was fatigued. “My arm kind of went South,” he said afterward.

Against the Dodgers Friday, Finley retired the first 10 batters he faced.

“He threw good,” Rader said.

Six of those batters were retired on ground balls. Two others were strikeout victims. Another was out on a fly ball in foul territory, and the remaining one on a fly to right.

There was one out in the fourth before Finley was anything but perfect. He got into a bit of trouble with back-to-back walks to Willie Randolph and Hubie Brooks. But he got out just as quickly, striking out Eddie Murray swinging and retiring Mickey Hatcher on a groundout.

Then came the fifth. But even though it resulted in two runs, he allowed only two balls to be hit well.

He got Kal Daniels to hit a ground ball, but Daniels reached first after the ball came up oddly off the infield and shortstop Mark McLemore was unable to make the play.

Finley got the first out on a fly ball to right. But then Mike Scioscia singled to right, with Daniels taking third.

Finley got Alfredo Griffin to hit back to the mound, and caught Daniels in a rundown. Griffin reached on the fielder’s choice, and Scioscia ended up at third.

Facing Juan Samuel with one out, Finley got him to hit a groundball. But it got through the infield, barely past the reach of third baseman Donnie Hill, and Scioscia scored.

Next up was Randolph, who doubled to left, driving in Griffin, and sending pitching coach Marcel Lachemann to the mound to talk to Finley.

Finley finished his day’s work with the next batter, getting Brooks to fly out to shallow right field.

He was tired, but stronger than he had been Monday. And, the Angels hope, not as strong as he will be Tuesday when he pitches against Seattle.

“He threw much better to get to the point of fatigue today,” Rader said.

Finley threw 71 pitches, walked two and struck out three.

Next week, Rader said, he would like to see his starters able to go five innings at least.

“I’d hate to see a guy able to go four and not be able to go five and be in a position to win the ball game,” he said.