Angels Get Over .500, Win, 2-1 : Baseball: Finley wins duel with Saberhagen, completing three-game sweep of Royals.

Bret Saberhagen had the 12 strikeouts, the complete game and the warmest ovation of the afternoon from a congenial Royals Stadium crowd. But when the last bit of suspense was over, Chuck Finley had the victory, and that meant more to the Angel left-hander than any round of applause ever could.

Finley battled the Royals and himself Thursday more than he battled Saberhagen, the 1989 Cy Young Award winner. Finley triumphed on all counts, as the Angels held on for a 2-1 decision that gave them a three-game sweep of the Royals and their 17th victory in their last 24 games.

“They’re never easy for me,” said Finley, who improved his record to 8-3 and helped the Angels surpass .500 for the first time since April 18. “Every time I go out, it seems I struggle. But I’d rather struggle and win than breeze through it and lose.

“I don’t think I’ve had an easy game this year or last year. As long as we’re winning, I don’t care.”

Finley won for the fifth time in six outings despite his fourth-inning throwing error on a grounder by Bo Jackson, which led to a bases-loaded, two-out jam. He wriggled out of that by slipping a third strike past Rey Palacios, but eight innings and 130 pitches was his limit. “I did myself a favor by not going out for the ninth,” said Finley, who gave up four hits and two walks.

Mark Eichhorn made his fourth appearance in five games, allowing one hit as he recorded his 12th save of the season. He has saved five of the Angels’ last six victories. “My legs were a little pooped, but my arm never bothers me, knock on wood,” he said, tapping his head.

Eichhorn was there when needed, just as Max Venable was there in the sixth inning with his back to the center-field fence to catch a fly ball hit by Danny Tartabull, whose home run to right in the fourth had given Kansas City its run. And although no Angel could catch Willie Wilson’s shot to right-center in the sixth, the ball obediently hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double instead of a triple that would have scored Jim Eisenreich.

“No question,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said when asked if he thought Wilson’s hit would tie the game. “ Wilson might have scored on that. We’re very fortunate that ball bounced over the wall.”

The Royals threatened again in the ninth, after Eisenreich’s fly to left surprised Venable and carried over his head for a double. Wilson moved Eisenreich to third, but Eichhorn got out of the inning with a strikeout of pinch-hitter Mike Macfarlane and a pop foul by Kevin Seitzer sandwiched around a walk to Gerald Perry. “I messed up, but Ike saved my butt,” Venable said.

Nothing could save the day for Saberhagen (5-4) after the Royals’ fourth consecutive defeat, their last home game before a trip West to face the Oakland Athletics and the Angels.

“It doesn’t look too promising right now,” Saberhagen said. “The way we’ve been playing, it’s disgusting. I hate looking at the box scores. I’m getting fed up. I’m not going out there for myself--but it’s been a long season, just say that.”

The season is just getting interesting for the Angels. The lineup they used Thursday was their 54th in 55 games, and it was successful because of opportunistic hitting. Gary DiSarcina led off the third with a double to right, moved to third on Brian Downing’s grounder to the right side and scored on Venable’s single to center. Chili Davis followed with a single to left, and Lance Parrish, filling in at first again for the sore-kneed Wally Joyner, drove in Venable with a single to left.

“I knew one or two runs was going to be about it, so I had to be focused in on every pitch,” said Finley, who matched his season high with seven strikeouts. “I had great stuff compared with my last start (a 2 2/3-inning debacle Saturday in a 6-3 loss at Texas). This time, I was getting ahead of hitters and keeping the ball around the plate, spotting the ball real well and mixing my pitches.”

He held off the Royals long enough for Eichhorn to clinch what the side-armer considered a crucial victory.

“I think it was important for us to get to .500 and now to get over it,” Eichhorn said. “We’d been shooting at .500 for a while and missing it, and now that we’re there, I think we can really get going.”

Angel Notes

X-rays on Wally Joyner’s inflamed right knee were normal, but Joyner--who left Wednesday’s game when the knee became painful--will undergo a Magnetic Resonance Imaging test today under the supervision of team orthopedist Lewis Yocum. Joyner didn’t start Thursday but hit for John Orton in the ninth and played the bottom of the ninth. “It’s been with me for about two weeks,” Joyner said of his knee problem. “I hope a few days’ rest should cure it.” He gave Lance Parrish, his replacement at first, a favorable review. “I may have to find another position,” Joyner said. “Like catcher.”

X-rays on reliever Bryan Harvey’s right elbow were also normal. Harvey experienced the pain when he threw a forkball in the bullpen Wednesday, but didn’t have the same discomfort when he threw his fastball. However, he stopped throwing after a second forkball caused more pain and was told to rest for 48 hours. He won’t be available for tonight’s game. “It never happened before,” said Harvey, who has retired the last 20 batters he has faced and has recorded 16 strikeouts in his last 12 2/3 innings. “I don’t know what it was.”

Reliever Greg Minton, whose impressive comeback from elbow surgery was slowed when he developed shoulder problems after throwing last weekend, will undergo an arthrogram to determine the cause of his pain. X-rays of his shoulder were normal. . . . Devon White, who left Wednesday’s game because of tightness in his left rib cage, didn’t start Thursday but ran for Chili Davis in the eighth and was caught stealing. . . . Max Venable has 14 hits in his last 29 at-bats.