THE BREAKS WENT THEIR WAY : Heaven Seems Only Half a Season Away : Angels: Strong pitching, hitting of Winfield and Joyner have been the keys as the team stays in the thick of wild AL West race.

By the time the 1990 season was half over, the Angels’ season was done.

At the All-Star break, they were 41-43 and 11 games out in the American League West. They got no closer the rest of the season, fading to finish 23 games behind the Oakland Athletics.

As the Angels open the second half of the 1991 season tonight against the New York Yankees at Anaheim Stadium, they can look back with satisfaction at a 44-37 performance that has placed them two games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.

“I think our pitching lends itself to being consistent,” pitcher Jim Abbott said. “Nobody’s going to get through our rotation without one guy beating them.

“It’s crazy, five teams within 2 1/2 games. Some teams are going to fall off and some are going to hang in. I think we’re going to be in there. I won’t guarantee it, but there’s enough good omens to have expectations of being in there.”

Consistency has kept the Angels in contention. They haven’t let their deficit exceed five games, and they were in first place for one day, July 3, when a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals gave them a .001 lead over the Minnesota Twins. Their longest losing streak was four games, a slump they carried into the break, and their longest winning streak was five games, June 1-6.

“Right now we’re in pretty good shape,” left fielder Luis Polonia said. “We’re right there, and there’s a good feeling in here. It’s a good feeling to finish the first half and know we’re right there. The second half is going to be better because we know who we have, who we’re going to go out there with. In the first half, you have to find out what you have, and now we know.

“When we come back, we know we’ve got to put our minds to the game. This is the second half. No more chance to play around.”

WHAT’S GONE RIGHT

--Signing Gary Gaetti. Guaranteeing the 32-year-old third baseman $11.4 million for four years was risky, but it has been a triumphant gamble. Although he’s hitting .254, two points below his career average, that’s 25 points higher than last season. He also has been exceptional defensively.

--Wally Joyner’s resurgence. Joyner had his best first half since his rookie season of 1986. He provided one of the season’s memorable moments in Baltimore on May 18, when he fouled off five pitches from Mike Flanagan before stroking a two-run single that gave the Angels a 4-2 victory and boosted his batting average to .391. He slipped to .312 a month later but has rebounded to .326, second in the AL. With 57 runs batted in, he’s on a pace to surpass 100 for the first time since 1987. If this is his salary drive--he’s eligible for free agency after the season--he’s taking the Angels along for the ride.

--Dave Winfield. At 39, he has had one of the strongest starts in his 18-year career. He has hit a team-high 18 home runs, shares the team RBI lead with Joyner and is hitting .280. He became the oldest player to hit for the cycle when he victimized Hector Wagner, Tom Gordon and Bill Pecota of the Kansas City Royals on June 24. Acquiring him from the New York Yankees for pitcher Mike Witt has proved a steal.

--Bryan Harvey. Consistency and control helped him record 22 saves in 24 opportunities as he became one of the league’s top closers. Few of his saves have been cheap; most have been like his performance against Boston on June 6, when he entered the game in the eighth inning with runners on first and second and the Angels ahead, 3-2. Harvey escaped that by getting Wade Boggs on a grounder to first base and striking out Tom Brunansky. He finished the game by getting Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks on groundouts and slipping a third strike past Jack Clark. Harvey’s earned-run average is 0.92, and he hasn’t allowed an inherited runner to score in his 12 appearances since June 1.

--Mark Eichhorn. The right-handed submariner has become the ideal setup man for Harvey. Typically, he’ll come in to pitch the eighth inning and yield to Harvey for the ninth. Eichhorn didn’t walk a batter from last Sept. 10 until June 26, and his ERA is 0.79. Both he and Harvey might break the club ERA record for relievers of 1.36, set in 1969 by Ken Tatum.

--The bullpen. With an ERA of 2.11 through mid-June, the relief corps was the best in the league. Jeff Robinson has the only three saves not recorded by Harvey, and he provided decent middle relief until recently.

--Mark Langston. His new aggressive approach brought him 12 victories, tying him with Chuck Finley for the club and league lead. He’s getting more offensive support than last season, which has boosted his confidence and helped him win 11 of 12 decisions between May 4 and July 1. There’s little grumbling from fans about his five-year, $16-million contract.

--Jim Abbott. His 0-4 start sparked questions about his development in his third season, but then he won five consecutive games and seven of eight. His record would be better if the bullpen hadn’t blown four potential saves in four of his starts and if he hadn’t thrown away a Steve Buechele bunt last Saturday in Texas that led to a Ranger comeback. He has giving up fewer walks and hits and is proving that he’s a legitimate starter.

--Chuck Finley. Not nearly as dominating as he was last season, Finley has labored for his 12 victories. His ERA of 4.10 is more than 1.50 higher than it was halfway through last season, and he’s averaging more than four walks a game. His tenacity gets him through tough situations, but he has struggled through too many 38-pitch innings like the one last Sunday in Texas, when the Rangers rocked him for six runs.

--The SCUDS. The reserves adopted a humorous name, which stands for Sitting Comfortably Until Deployed Squad, but they don’t take their duties lightly. Injuries to regulars have thrust them into major roles, and they have come through. Center fielder Dave Gallagher, acquired for his defense, hit .306 and deserves consideration for the starting job. Catcher Ron Tingley is solid defensively, having thrown out 10 of 13 would-be base stealers. And Donnie Hill has filled in capably at second base and shortstop. “Role players can be huge on a winning team,” Gallagher said. The SCUDS have made the Angels a winning team.

--Defense. The Angels set an AL record by playing 14 consecutive errorless games June 14-28, a streak sustained in five stadiums. They have committed only 44 errors, fewest in the AL, and have a major league-leading .986 fielding average. That’s keeping them in many games they couldn’t win last season, when they gave up 93 unearned runs. Gaetti and Luis Sojo at second base have stabilized the infield.

WHAT’S GONE WRONG

--The fifth starter. Scott Lewis, Joe Grahe and Fernando Valenzuela were a combined 1-8 with a 9.75 ERA before the team went to a four-man rotation. There are enough days off in July to stay with four starters, but a fifth starter will be imperative when the schedule becomes hectic in August. A trade is likely, because neither Robinson nor Floyd Bannister has started in a while and no one at Edmonton has the starting experience that could make a difference in a pennant push. The four starters--Finley, Langston, Abbott and Kirk McCaskill--are 38-23 in 69 starts.

--The bullpen. Although the relief corps had a 2.11 ERA before the 13-game, four-city trip to Boston, Milwaukee, Detroit and Kansas City last month, the rocky journey elevated the relievers’ ERA to 3.12 and made some holes apparent. Middle relief looms as a problem, with Robinson struggling over the last month, Mike Fetters inconsistent and Bannister largely ineffective.

--No home-field advantage. The Angels hit .273 on the road with an average of 9.6 hits and 5.1 runs a game, but at Anaheim Stadium those numbers declined to .254 with an average of 8.4 hits and four runs a game. Winfield drove in 39 of his 57 runs on the road, and 34 of Joyner’s RBIs have come in road games. Only Gaetti (.292 at home, .222 on the road) and Lance Parrish (.270 at home, .218 on the road) are markedly more productive in front of the home fans. Although the Angels lead the AL with 23 road victories, they will have to improve on their 21-19 home record.

--Junior Felix. A pulled calf muscle has him on the disabled list for the second time this season, and he wasn’t impressive when he played. The deal that brought Felix and Sojo from Toronto for Devon White and Willie Fraser appears to favor the Blue Jays so far.

--Dave Parker. If he has as big an impact on the field as he does in the clubhouse, the Angels would be in first place by 10 games. His .222 batting average, including .199 at home, and 34 RBIs are major disappointments. Parker has acknowledged that his early slump was the worst of his career, but does he have enough left at 40 to have a big second half?