Angels in Sync in Loss, Extending Streak to 7 : Baseball: Offense fails again, Yankee rookie Johnson having little trouble in 2-0 victory.

Entering into the spirit--if not the competition--of the Olympic Festival, the Angels on Saturday continued to demonstrate world-class skills at synchronized slumping.

Failing for the second successive night to capitalize on the inexperience of a rookie pitcher, the Angels on Saturday mustered only four hits off Yankee left-hander Jeff Johnson over 8 1/3 innings in a 2-0 loss to New York at Anaheim Stadium.

That’s four shutouts in their last six games and 11 this season, second in the major leagues only to Cleveland’s 13. That’s seven consecutive losses, their longest losing streak in more than two years. That’s one run in their last 41 innings, four in their last 56 and 12 hits in their last four games.

“It’s almost purposeless to state the obvious, which is that we’re not scoring runs,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “We haven’t hit in a week and we haven’t won for a week. It’s as simple as that.”

It’s as simple as that, but as complicated as being unable to succeed against a wide variety of pitchers. Getting only two hits against fastball artist Nolan Ryan is understandable; being held to one hit by veteran Scott Sanderson is tolerable if unpleasant, because a veteran pitcher will have a brilliant game once in a while.

But to be limited to one run by rookie Scott Kamieniecki in a 2-1 loss Friday and to four singles by Johnson (2-3) Saturday defies explanation.

“Guys are throwing the ball pretty well against us,” said Gary Gaetti, who had a third-inning single Saturday but was caught stealing on a slick move by Johnson. “It’s a combination of not knowing them and, well, it’s no secret, we’re not stroking the ball. I don’t know how to say it. . . .

“Good teams get out of these things. It’s not fun, but everybody in this (clubhouse) has been through it at least once, in his own personal life and as a team. We’re going to come back out tomorrow and go for it again. It’s all we can do.”

They couldn’t get a runner past first base Saturday until pinch-hitter Bobby Rose and first baseman Wally Joyner lined back-to-back singles to center field with one out in the ninth inning. That ended Johnson’s seventh major league start, but his second victory came when Steve Farr induced Dave Winfield (three for 31) to ground into a double play.

“A lot of guys are swinging ugly,” Dave Parker (one for 21) said.

But to Johnson, who got all but three of his outs on groundballs, the Angels’ ugly swings were beautiful.

“With the way the Angels are going, they’re almost getting themselves out,” said Johnson, one of three rookies in the Yankees’ starting rotation and four rookies in Saturday’s lineup. “Not to take any credit away from myself.”

He did deserve a good deal of credit, and the Angels said so. “He’s a little sinker-baller with a fastball that goes away from right-handers and into me,” Parker said. “He got a lot of ground balls.”

So did Angel starter Jim Abbott (7-7). He recorded 16 outs on grounders and struck out two in pitching his second complete game of the season. The crowd of 37,030 gave him a standing ovation as he walked to the Angel dugout after 8 1/2 innings, a gesture he appreciated.

On the whole, he would have preferred to have a few runs.

The Yankees got to him in the second inning on back-to-back singles by Jesse Barfield and Mel Hall and a sacrifice fly by Matt Nokes; and again in the fifth on singles by Nokes and Bernie Williams, a wild pitch and Pat Kelly’s sacrifice fly on a sinking liner to right field.

“We’ll get through this. I don’t think there’s any particular section of the team to lay blame on,” Abbott said. “I’ve had my share of (offensive) support for a while. We may score 10 times tomorrow in the daytime.”

Then again, they may not. Joining Parker and Winfield in their misery, Lance Parrish is one for 21, Luis Polonia three for 22 and Donnie Hill is 0 for 17.

The starters, knowing they probably will have few runs to work with, could be feeling some pressure. “You can’t really think about that,” Abbott said. “With the capabilities this team has, we’re liable to break through at any time. It’s just something you go through as a team.”

* DODGERS RAINED OUT: A massive tear in the roof at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium forces postponement of Saturday night’s game. The teams will play a doubleheader today. C6