ANGELS : Lewis’ Game Not Quite Right on Schedule

The handwriting was on the wall for Scott Lewis Sunday, but the young right-hander didn’t pay it much attention.

A neatly printed pitching schedule hangs on the bulletin board in the Angels’ clubhouse, and Lewis is listed as the starter Thursday against the Giants. But he didn’t dare think it meant he had won his competition with Joe Grahe to replace Bert Blyleven in the Angels’ rotation.

“I still haven’t heard anything, and I’ll never take anything for granted,” Lewis said. “This game’s too funny for that.”

On Sunday, funny meant odd, not amusing.

Uncomfortable on the mound at Angels Stadium, Lewis issued three walks in three innings, as many walks as he had given up in 9 2/3 innings in three previous appearances. He also gave up the tying run in a game won by the Seattle Mariners, 4-3, on Chuck Jackson’s ninth-inning single off Bryan Harvey.

Lewis followed Chuck Finley, who gave up two runs and struck out six in five innings. Lewis got away with giving up two-out walks in the sixth and seventh, but a two-out walk to Alvin Davis in the eighth cost him. Pinch-runner Dennis Hood stole second, went to third on catcher John Orton’s throwing error and scored on Rich Amaral’s double.

“My second inning out there, I told Johnny (Orton), ‘I feel awful and I’m getting people out,’ ” Lewis said. “Sometimes you feel great, have your best stuff and you get roped. It’s unpredictable.”

Asked to predict whether he or Grahe will take Blyleven’s spot while Blyleven recovers from right shoulder surgery, Lewis shrugged. Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann said each rookie soon would get a start, but Grahe doesn’t have one on the current schedule, which runs through Friday. Grahe will follow Kirk McCaskill today against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“I can’t go on this. I just didn’t feel that good today,” Lewis said. “After my next bullpen (throwing session), I’ll go out and work on a few mechanical things. I only gave up one hit and the result was good, so I must have done something right. I can’t make this a total flop, and I can’t get down on myself. It could have been a heck of a lot worse.”

It could have been the nightmare Finley endured in 1988, when the Mariners batted around before he recorded an out and scored 13 runs in the first inning.

“When I got an out I got a standing ovation,” Finley said. “The beer vendors applauded, too. The inning was so long, they said they sold 15 kegs of beer.”

He fared better Sunday, escaping jams in the second and fourth innings, but wasn’t entirely pleased. Seattle scored twice in the third on a walk, a single and Henry Cotto’s double.

“I’m getting there, if I don’t run out of time,” Finley said. “We were changing speeds, but I’m still not extremely happy with the placement of my fastball. I’m not too happy with walking left-handers. But it’s getting better.”

Manager Doug Rader agreed that Finley hasn’t reached his 18-victory form of last season.

“He’s still struggling with his rhythm a little bit. When he has it, he’s real good, and when he doesn’t, he fights it,” Rader said. “But he’s not far away.”

Rader also said Lewis “needs to be a little more efficient,” but said all the pitchers may have reached the “dead-arm stage” of the spring, when fatigue causes a lull.

Batting seventh for the second successive day, third baseman Gary Gaetti was three for four Sunday and raised his batting average to .233. Still adjusting to his new surroundings, Gaetti is trying to relax at the plate.

“You’ve got to put everything in perspective. This is spring training and this is the time to work out the things you need to work out,” he said.

Angel Notes

The Angels scored twice in the first, on a single by Luis Polonia, a triple by Luis Sojo and Wally Joyner’s groundout. Lance Parrish made it 3-0 in the third inning with his second spring home run. . . . Bert Blyleven threw some sharp curveballs during a simulated game Sunday.

The Angels, who are seeking a new spring home for 1993, are considering Tempe’s Diablo Stadium, which will be vacated by the Mariners. Tempe officials last Friday broke off talks with the Mariners, who wanted the city to pay for improvements to the practice fields and clubhouses. The Angels wouldn’t require those expenditures because they could continue to use the fields at Gene Autry Park in nearby Mesa.