A Stroll as Angels Take 10 Walks on Hough’s Wild Side - Baseball: White hits three-run home run in the eighth inning to cap 7-3 victory over Rangers, but Finley fails to get 17th.

The Angels won their strange battle against Charlie Hough’s floating, jumping knuckleballs.

They hung in there until Hough left the game and took his wild and confounding pitches with him.

Then they hit some pitches that strayed conventionally close to the plate and scored a 7-3 victory over the Texas Rangers before 23,915 Monday at Anaheim Stadium.

Dick Schofield’s run-scoring single in the eighth inning against relief pitcher Brad Arnsberg broke a 3-3 tie, and Devon White’s three-run homer sealed the victory.

“It felt good,” White said, laughing after the frustration of facing Hough.

The Angels couldn’t hit Hough during the five innings he pitched, getting only two singles. Of course, you might forgive them for not hitting balls that they couldn’t reach.

Hough walked 10 batters, a club and personal record. He also handed the Angels their first run, not only by walking it in, but by walking the bases full before that.

“It was one of those nights when I couldn’t get it over,” Hough said. “I tried it slow, I tried it hard. Nothing worked. But it was 1-1, it’s not like I got knocked out.”

Said Texas Manager Bobby Valentine: “He’s going to walk some guys, it comes with the territory. But 10’s a little much.”

Even though the Angels won the game, pitcher Chuck Finley was fighting another battle, one that was never lost. With 16 victories, he is trying to become the Angels’ first 20-game winner since Nolan Ryan in 1974.

With Ryan in the park and scheduled to pitch today, Finley stumbled in the seventh inning, losing a 3-1 lead and leaving the game tied. He was not involved in the decision.

The outing was Finley’s second difficult one in a row after he gave up six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Detroit Tigers Wednesday.

“Somebody who pitches like I did didn’t deserve to win,” said Finley, ignoring the stretch during which he retired 13 batters in a row. “I didn’t have much stuff, but I took it as far as I could. I don’t feel too good about giving up the lead.”

Finley was down on himself, and worried about a fastball that he said has “lost its pop.”

“You start doing good time in and time out and then you have two or three bad outings in a row and you wonder if you’re hurt or you’ve lost it or you’re not as good as you thought or we thought,” he said.

Said Manager Doug Rader: “To straighten his thinking out, you have to think about the previous 25 or whatever and not become preoccupied with what you’re doing. You have to understand the impact of what a great year he is having.”

Finley gave up three runs and eight hits, walked two and struck out seven.

Finley fell behind quickly Monday. With two out in the first inning, Julio Franco singled to right. The next batter, Ruben Sierra, doubled to the corner in left, with Franco scoring well ahead of the throw after left fielder Chili Davis bobbled the ball at the wall.

Finley got into trouble again in the second inning, this time loading the bases on a single and two walks. But with two out, he faced Jeff Kunkel, quickly getting ahead of him on a two-strike count. The count went to 2-and-2, but then, in what has become his trademark style, Finley escaped by striking him out.

That began a streak during which he retired the next 13 batters before giving up a leadoff double to Rafael Palmeiro in the seventh.

By then, the Angels were already leading, 3-1.

That lead didn’t last. After Palmeiro’s double, Finley gave up a single to Mike Stanley that drove in the run. Next up was John Russell, who singled to center, where White bobbled the ball, his error allowing Stanley to take third. Russell, however, was out trying to take second.

Immediately after that, Jeff Huson singled to right, and Stanley scored, making the score 3-3.

That was all for Finley.

Willie Fraser (5-3) came in, getting Gary Pettis to ground out to end the inning.

The only time Hough looked good was when he was facing Dave Winfield, who struck out in his first two at-bats, looking foolish on mighty swings against Hough’s knucklers. Winfield took back his pride in his third at-bat, walking on four pitches.

Angel Notes

Nolan Ryan, who earned his 300th victory and pitched a record sixth no-hitter earlier this season, will make his 700th career start tonight at Anaheim Stadium against the Angels’ Kirk McCaskill. Ryan (12-6) is tied for fifth on the all-time start list with Tommy John.

Until last season, Ryan had not pitched at Anaheim Stadium since 1979, his final year with the Angels before signing with the Houston Astros.

Ryan won every return last season, throwing two three-hit shutouts for the Rangers and working two scoreless innings to win the All-Star game.

“I really thought when I played here I’d end up retiring out here in an Angel uniform,” Ryan said. “I had that thought too in an Astro uniform.”

The Angels placed infielder Donnie Hill on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Saturday and recalled Jack Howell from triple-A Edmonton.