Angels Find Success, Not Art : Baseball: They hit four homers and Finley survives two by Yankees to get fifth victory, 7-4, with help from Harvey.

Dave Winfield critiqued his home run as being less than a classic drive, and Chuck Finley knew the box score would intimate that his eight-plus-inning pitching effort Tuesday was far from his best.

But the Angels weren’t long concerned about trivial shortcomings, not on a night when Winfield triggered a four-homer spree with his first since April 13 and Finley pitched into the ninth inning of a 7-4 victory over the New York Yankees before 24,977 at Anaheim Stadium.

Winfield’s first-inning homer off starter Andy Hawkins (0-2) was the 382nd of his career, tying him for 27th place on the all-time list with Dale Murphy, Frank Howard and Jim Rice. Ahead is Eddie Murray, whose home run Tuesday was his 383rd.

“(Hawkins) jammed me. It wasn’t one of those where I’m extended and on my back leg,” said Winfield, who had gone without a home run in 58 at-bats since his three-homer game against the Minnesota Twins. “I didn’t know it was going out. I thought it was a double. I’ll take it.”

He took a larger measure of satisfaction than usual because it came against his former team and was his first against them. He has failed to hit a home run only against the Padres, for whom he played from 1973 through 1980.

“It’s good to do it against the Yankees. I was up for it,” said Winfield, who was acquired from New York last May for pitcher Mike Witt.

Finley (5-1) joined Boston’s Roger Clemens and Oakland’s Mike Moore as the only five-game winners in the major leagues despite giving up home runs to Kevin Maas and Roberto Kelly.

Maas’ blast into the right-field bullpen in the fourth inning was only the third homer Finley has given up to a left-handed hitter in his career; the first two were hit by Fred Lynn, then with Baltimore, on Aug. 28, 1987, and by Kansas City’s George Brett on Sept. 7, 1988.

Kelly’s home run in the fifth ended Finley’s streak of 18 consecutive starts in which he hadn’t allowed more than one homer. Of greater importance to Finley and the Angels was that Kelly’s blast to left trimmed the Angel lead to 6-4.

“I know Chuck doesn’t like giving up home runs,” said Angel catcher Lance Parrish, who hit the Angels’ final home run, in the eighth inning off Eric Plunk. “I know it wasn’t the pitch he wanted to throw. That probably made him buckle down a little.”

After Kelly’s homer, Finley retired 10 consecutive batters. Don Mattingly ended that stretch--and Finley’s evening--with a single to right leading off the ninth inning. Bryan Harvey recorded three consecutive strikeouts to earn his seventh save in as many opportunities.

“I told myself (after Kelly’s home run) the same thing I tell myself all the time, that I’m not a quitter,” Finley said, after giving up four hits and striking out eight. “That pitch is history. . . .

“On paper this is not going to look that good because of the four runs. But take that one pitch away and it would have been a pretty good game. I still went into the ninth, and I didn’t give up a lot of hits or a lot of walks. I’m not going to dwell on that onepitch.”

Winfield’s homer gave the Angels a 1-0 lead, which became 2-0 on an unearned run in the second. After Junior Felix reached on an error and took second on a grounder, he scored on Dick Schofield’s single to right.

Although it might have gotten lost in the later flurry of homers--Gary Gaetti’s second three-run homer in three games gave the Angels a 5-0 cushion in the third inning--Manager Doug Rader considered that second-inning flurry just as important to his club’s triumph.

“Those are the little things that count like home runs,” Rader said. “That does as much as far as setting a trend--a mood--as anything. It’s seemingly insignificant, but it’s really important.”

While the home run hitters were besieged for interviews, Schofield sat alone at his locker. Still, he was no less proud of his contribution.

“People who know the game pick up those things. They can’t overshadow home runs, but any time you get a knock with two outs, that helps,” Schofield said.

The Angels were happy to get runs for Finley any way they could.

“Any of our starting pitchers has the opportunity to go out there and throw a great game, but Chuck Finley’s been on a roll lately and he’s one of our leaders on our pitching staff,” said Joyner, who tagged Plunk’s first pitch for his second homer of the season, measured at 370 feet into the seats in right field.

“When he takes the mound and we do score some runs early, we do have a good chance to win.”