Angels Watch Rally Go Over the Wall, 5-4

This was his moment, Bryan Harvey’s chance to recapture the magic that produced 25 saves last season but was sent into storage by Mark Eichhorn’s forkball.

Pitching in a save situation for only the second time this season, Harvey couldn’t preserve a victory the Angels had twice fought back to earn. After giving up the tying run in the eighth, he struck out Wade Boggs leading off the ninth, but his first pitch to shortstop Jody Reed was hit into the screen above Fenway Park’s famed Green Monster in left field, giving Boston a 5-4 victory.

Lose on a hit by Boggs, a five-time batting champion, and it’s disappointing, but not preposterous. To lose on a home run by Reed, who had hit four in more than two years in the major leagues, made the Angels’ sixth defeat in eight games--and fourth in six on this trip--gut-wrenching for Harvey.

“He’s batting second for a good reason,” Harvey (1-1) said of Reed. “Don’t get me wrong, but he’s not the kind of guy you think is going to take you deep. What does he do? He takes me deep.”

Almost as deep as the regret he felt over failing to save the game for starter Jim Abbott, who rode out a rocky start and lasted seven innings.

Jack Howell’s two-run home run in the second tied the score,2-2, but the Red Sox inched ahead in the seventh on an infield hit, a sacrifice bunt, a single and a suicide squeeze that Abbott expected but couldn’t counter because “I just didn’t pick the ball up soon enough.”

Rallying again, run-scoring singles by Dante Bichette and Johnny Ray in the eighth off Lee Smith (2-1) put the Angels ahead, 4-3, and put Abbott in position to gain his first victory.

Manager Doug Rader, who had used Eichhorn on Wednesday to preserve Kirk McCaskill’s 5-2 victory, had no qualms about going to Harvey in the eighth. Harvey recorded a save in his only other opportunity, April 15 against Minnesota, but has, as he put it, “scuffled” because he hasn’t gotten as much work as he’d like. But if he’s ineffective when he does work, it becomes difficult to justify giving him more.

“We have not been able to put Bryan Harvey in the role he’s most comfortable in,” Rader said. “His stuff’s great. There’s nothing wrong with it. We haven’t had him in a role where he can be as sharp as he’s going to be. We need to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

The Angels gave the Red Sox the gift of an extra out in the eighth when Dwight Evans struck out leading off but reached first when the third strike eluded catcher Lance Parrish. It was ruled a wild pitch, but Parrish took the blame. “I don’t know if it hit something and skipped higher than I expected or what, but it was my fault, no doubt about it,” he said.

No matter who was to blame, Evans was on first and moved to second when Tony Pena grounded a single between short and third. He moved to third on Carlos Quintana’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Mike Greenwell’s sacrifice fly, Greenwell’s first RBI in 14 games.

“My forkball was doing OK, but I hung it to Greenwell,” Harvey said.

With another loss and the Oakland Athletics five games ahead of them, the Angels head to New York for three games against the Yankees. Rader insists the best is yet to come for both his offense and for Harvey.

“I’m sure it’ll all work itself out,” Rader said. “When the nature of the games change and the offense picks up, it’ll be very easy to accommodate both (Harvey and Eichhorn).

“The thing we need to remember is that we did come back and go ahead. We have to remember the positive things we did. We don’t need to dwell on the negatives. If we did that, we’d be going crazy.”

Angel Notes

The Angels extended Bert Blyleven’s contract through 1991, with an option for two more years at the club’s choice. Blyleven, whose 1990 salary is $1.175 million, will earn slightly more than $2 million in 1991. Each option year would pay him a similar amount. Blyleven is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA. He is 29 victories short of 300 and has pitched 4,718 innings, 15th all-time. He is fifth in strikeouts (3,566) and ninth in shutouts (60). “Now I can buy a new lighter,” said Blyleven, who is as famous for torching teammates’ shoes as for his curveball. “I feel I can compete another three or four years. As long as I perform, I’ll be rewarded by the option years. This takes a burden off my shoulders. I’m the type of guy who wants to know what’s going on. This is one less thing I have to worry about.”

Successful arthroscopic surgery was performed Thursday on reliever Greg Minton’s right elbow. He is expected back after the All-Star break. . . . Jim Abbott feels he’s ahead of where he was at the same point last season, but not yet where he wants to be. “It’s just been a year where I need to start kicking it in a little bit and try to get fired up,” said Abbott, who allowed three runs, struck out three and walked two. “I have to stop doing things academically and show some fire.” . . . Dante Bichette’s eighth-inning RBI was his first since a three-run home run against Minnesota on April 17. . . . The Angels have at least one double in 14 consecutive games.

Catcher Bill Schroeder reportedly was released by the Angels, but the release was retracted after Schroeder filed a grievance with the players’ union. Clubs had until Wednesday to release players and pay only one-sixth of their 1990 salaries, which the Angels reportedly attempted. However, they rescinded the release after Schroeder filed a grievance to get his full salary. A club official said releasing Schroeder was considered when the 31-year-old catcher developed a sore right elbow in spring training, but was later ruled out. Schroeder was scheduled to rejoin the Angels today in New York after having his elbow examined in Milwaukee.