Langston Loses Valiantly Again : Angels: In his first return to Kingdome since being traded to Montreal last year, he holds the Mariners in check, but loses, 2-1, for the fourth time this season.

It no longer matters that he usually loses valiantly. Mark Langston lost again Wednesday, and it wasn’t simply because the Angels fell back into their habit of stingy offensive production when he’s on the mound.

Langston’s first start at the Kingdome since the Mariners traded him to the Montreal Expos last May was not a happy homecoming. He walked two batters and hit another in the seventh inning to give the Mariners the run they needed to squeeze out a 2-1 victory over the Angels in the last of three makeup games between the teams.

It was his fourth 2-1 loss--he also lost a game, 1-0--this season. Langston (4-10) is 1-7 with three no-decisions in his last 11 starts, hardly the kind of performance the Angels expected when they signed him to a five-year, $16-million contract last winter. The defeat left the Angels 4-10 in their last 14 games and dropped them 12 games behind the American League West-leading Oakland A’s.

He has not earned a victory since a 6-4 decision over Kansas City June 5.

Langston pitched seven hitless innings against the Mariners on April 11 at Anaheim as his contribution in a combined no-hitter with Mike Witt.

The fans cheered each Mariner hit Wednesday as loudly as they had booed Langston in the pregame introductions, obviously bitter at his desire to leave the team last season and become a free agent.

Each team scored early and each had chances to score more.

The Angels scored first on Erik Hanson in the second inning. Chili Davis led off with a walk and moved to third on Lance Parrish’s single to center. Davis scored on Dante Bichette’s fly to right.

Seattle matched that in the third inning with a two-out run, exploiting a weakness repeatedly displayed by Langston this season. Harold Reynolds singled with one out and stole second after Henry Cotto struck out swinging. Ken Griffey Jr., who played in Tuesday’s All-Star game and was the first Mariner voted as an All-Star starter, doubled off the wall in right-center, scoring Reynolds.

Griffey reached third when Langston’s 2-and-2 pitch to Jeffrey Leonard sailed over Leonard’s head and off Parrish’s glove, but Griffey was stranded when Bichette caught Leonard’s fly ball on the warning track in center field.

The Angels loaded the bases in the fourth inning but couldn’t score. With one out, Davis singled to left field. He was forced at second by Dave Winfield, but Winfield moved up to second on a balk. Parrish and Bichette walked, but Jack Howell, who entered the game hitting .119 with runners in scoring position, struck out.

Hanson (10-6) scattered four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He settled into a steady and effective rhythm in the middle innings, allowing only a one-out single to Luis Polonia in the fifth, after which Polonia was thrown out stealing. Hanson retired the Angels in order in the sixth and seventh innings and struck out seven through seven innings.

Langston again flirted with trouble in the fourth and sixth innings but managed to work out of jams both times. However, he couldn’t extricate himself in the seventh, when his wildness helped the Mariners take a 2-1 lead.

Pete O’Brien led off the inning with a walk. David Valle was hit by a pitch as he squared to bunt. Omar Vizquel sacrificed, forcing Langston to field the ball and creating only one possible play at first. Reynolds walked--the fourth walk issued by Langston--to load the bases.

That brought up Cotto, who entered the game with a .327 batting average against left-handers. Cotto bounced the ball to the right side, where it was played by second baseman Johnny Ray. His toss to second was good for the force on Reynolds, but shortstop Dick Schofield was upended and had no play at first. That enabled O’Brien to score the go-ahead run.

Cotto stole second with Griffey at bat, but Langston ended the inning by getting Griffey to swing and miss at a pitch in the dirt.

The Angels stirred in the eighth inning when Polonia lined a single to right with one out, which prompted Mariner Manager Jim Lefebvre to bring in left-handed reliever Keith Comstock. The maneuver worked: Ray bounced into a force play and Wally Joyner struck out on three pitches, losing his bat on the third.

Angel Notes

Angel catcher Lance Parrish was still running on adrenaline Wednesday after scoring the second run in the AL All-Stars’ 2-0 victory over the NL. Parrish caught an early flight to Seattle and was in the starting lineup.

“I’m not really that tired. I do feel like I just took this stuff (his uniform and equipment) off a little while ago,” said Parrish, who singled and scored on Julio Franco’s double. “It was fun and I really enjoyed it. I’m sure the fans were looking for a little more excitement, and it wasn’t fun to watch on TV, but it was fun to be part of it.”

Chuck Finley, who pitched the eighth inning Tuesday, skipped Wednesday’s game and flew from Chicago to California. Kirk McCaskill also was excused Wednesday. He’s scheduled to pitch tonight.

Angel Manager Doug Rader hoped the All-Star break would rejuvenate his team, which absorbed a 20-7 pounding Sunday in its last game before the respite.

“When you get away from it for a couple of days and let your mind clear, it sometimes has a positive effect on you,” Rader said. “More often than not, when things aren’t going real well, you have a hard time with it emotionally. You have a couple of days’ rest mentally, (and) it can have a good effect on you.”

Reliever Bryan Harvey was back after going to North Carolina to be with his father, Stan, who had a heart attack July 5. . . . Infielder Rick Schu, who was hampered by a muscle strain in his upper back before the break, is healthy again. Infielder Mark McLemore continues to receive therapy for his sprained right wrist and is hitting and throwing on alternate days. However, he’s not close to returning. . . . Pitcher Bob McClure (sore left elbow) is long-tossing but no timetable has been established for his return.