Lewis Does Nothing to Strengthen Cause : Angels: He goes only 3 2/3 innings, and Hough keeps California in check for 5-3 victory. Sosa’s three-run homer is key hit.

On the night Fernando Valenzuela made his first minor league start for the Angels, Scott Lewis made what might be his last major league start for a while.

The rookie right-hander gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings in the Angels’ 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox Wednesday at Anaheim Stadium, an outing that won’t improve his chances of keeping Valenzuela from displacing him as the Angels’ fifth starter.

Following his pattern of giving up runs early and in clusters, Lewis (1-5) gave up one in the first and four in the third. Three of those came on a two-out home run to left by Sammy Sosa on Lewis’ first pitch to him.

“It’s no secret what’s going on around here. It’s pretty apparent,” said Lewis, whose earned-run average rose to 6.75 after his fifth consecutive defeat. “I just have to keep digging and keep going after them.

“Obviously, it didn’t help my standing, and getting the early hook meant I didn’t even get a chance to begin to help turn it around. You start to think whether somebody made their mind up or what.

“Personally, I think I can win here. I’ve shown I can. It’s like a little hump to get over. A couple of our pitchers, like Jim Abbott and Mark Langston, went through it already. Once you start to win, it snowballs.”

Manger Doug Rader said keeping Lewis in the rotation is “a possibility.” He added: “We discuss the rotation, we discuss the ballclub in all aspects on a daily basis. We discuss who needs work in the bullpen, we discuss everybody. The rotation is no exception.”

After Lewis yielded a first-inning run on two singles, a walk and a fielder’s choice, the Angels gave him a reprieve by scoring twice against knuckleballer Charlie Hough (1-2) in the bottom of the inning. Sosa’s throwing error on Wally Joyner’s single to right allowed Luis Polonia to tie the score, and Joyner scored on a wild pitch by Hough.

But Hough, who made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 1970--when Lewis was not quite 5 years old--steadied himself after that inning. He went 7 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and striking out six.

“It’s just hard to get a good swing against him, let alone a hit,” Dave Gallagher said. “Sometimes, you say to yourself, ‘I want a good swing .’ He struck me out (in the second inning), and I thought it was right on. I didn’t hit it and the catcher didn’t catch it.”

Sosa caught a slider from Lewis and powered it 404 feet into the left-field seats after Lewis failed to get the final out in the third.

Tim Raines led off with a single, moved to second on a ground out, to third on Robin Ventura’s fly ball to the warning track in right and scored on Frank Thomas’ single to left. Lewis then walked Dan Pasqua on four pitches before serving up Sosa’s home run, the eighth homer he has given up in eight starts.

“The guy was looking for a pitch and I threw it to him,” Lewis said. “It wasn’t that bad of a pitch. The first time I got him out with a fastball, and I knew he was looking for a slider. He went out and got it.

“It’s not really a matter of self-confidence, it’s a matter of execution. Sometimes you try to make too good a pitch instead of trusting your stuff and going after people. Sometimes you find yourself getting in a pattern and instead of being aggressive, you pitch defensively and you play into somebody’s hands.”

Gary Gaetti’s eighth-inning home run brought the Angels within two runs, but they couldn’t rally against Donn Pall or Bobby Thigpen to extend their winning streak to five. Hough left to applause from the crowd of 25,803; Lewis was left wondering whether his exit is imminent.

“I look back and think it could have been my night except for one thing here or there,” he said. “I know what I’m doing. It’s a matter of executing.”