Angels Come Back to Win on Walks : Baseball: They get five bases on balls in ninth for 5-4 victory after Indians score three for 4-1 lead. No decision for Abbott again.

It looked like another woebegone night for the Angels Thursday. Once again, the bats were quiet. Once again, Jim Abbott put on a masterful pitching performance, only to falter slightly and be left with nothing. And for a while, it looked as if dependable closer Bryan Harvey would cost the Angels a game for the second time in a week.

Instead, the Angels mounted a rally, scoring four runs in the ninth to come back for a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians when Dick Schofield pushed across the winning run by walking on four pitches with the bases loaded, the score tied, and two out in the ninth.

With the victory, the Angels moved into second place in the American League West, remaining four games behind the Minnesota Twins but moving percentage points ahead of the Oakland Athletics.

“This means a lot, especially with the streak we’ve been in,” said Luis Polonia, whose leadoff single started the Angels’ ninth-inning rally. They entered the inning trailing, 4-1, after Cleveland’s three-run ninth.

Dave Winfield crossed the plate with the winning run after Cleveland reliever Jeff Shaw threw four balls in a row to Schofield, the Angels’ fifth walk of the inning, to the delight of what remained of an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 24,560.

The Angels mounted their rally off reliever Shawn Hillegas, scoring a run when Wally Joyner singled to right after a single by Polonia and a walk to pinch-hitter Donnie Hill.

Hillegas walked Winfield to load the bases before being relieved by Jesse Orosco, who came on to face Dave Parker.

The Angels made it 4-3 when Hill scored on Parker’s grounder to third, the first out of the inning.

The Indians walked Gary Gaetti intentionally, once again loading the bases, and brought in Shaw to face Lance Parrish, who delivered a sacrifice fly to center for the tying run.

The Indians then walked pinch-hitter Max Venable intentionally to get to Schofield.

“We’ll have to make some adjustments,” said Cleveland Manager Mike Hargrove, whose team has 28 victories, the fewest in the major leagues. “Our bullpen needs to learn to pitch in these type of games. And your closer should know how to close out a game with a three-run lead.”

It was a game the Angels had every opportunity to lose, and it would have been a heartbreaking loss.

“When things don’t go well, it’s difficult on a team,” Manager Doug Rader said. “But they have resiliency, I’m glad to see it.”

The rally was too late to save Abbott, who once again failed to win despite a fine outing. He left after giving up six hits in eight-plus innings. He was charged with three runs.

Despite pitching very well recently, he has been the victim of the bullpen’s unsteadiness, getting four no-decisions when the bullpen blew save opportunities.

Abbott called it “disappointing,” to get another.

“But as long as we win, I’ll take no-decisions all year long,” he said. “As long as I do my part, I don’t care what my record is.”

There were two outstanding pitching performances Thursday, by two pitchers who knew they needed to be sharp, the way their offenses have been playing.

Greg Swindell could hardly have been better either, giving up two hits in seven innings, striking out nine and walking one.

Abbott gave up two hits through seven innings and retired 12 in a row at one point. Still, he led only 1-0, on an unearned run off Swindell in the fifth inning.

The Angels scored on a fly ball by Winfield that bounced off Albert Belle’s glove for a two-base error, followed by Parker’s run-scoring single up the middle for the Angels’ first hit off Swindell.

Abbott’s troubles began in the eighth, when the Indians put runners on first and second with two out after two singles. He got ahead of Glenallen Hill, recently acquired along with Mark Whiten in the Tom Candiotti trade with Toronto, but then saw Hill work back to a full count. Finally, Hill hit a sharp grounder to third, but it short-hopped Gary Gaetti and got past him, allowing pinch-runner Alex Cole to score the tying run from second.

The score was still tied, 1-1, when Harvey relieved Abbott in the ninth.

Harvey watched three runs score, but he ended up the winner.

Harvey (2-3) has had a bad week.

On Monday, Harvey gave up a two-run homer in the ninth inning for a 2-1 Angel loss to Baltimore.

On Thursday, he gave up a single to Belle that scored the tiebreaking run. Then, with runners on second and third, Whiten doubled to right, scoring two more runs.

Happily for the Angels, in the end it didn’t matter.