Angels’ Langston Gets 14th Victory : Baseball: He goes 8 2/3 innings and beats the Yankees, 5-1. Joyner drives in three runs.

The Angels have been too disappointed on too many occasions to give much significance to one good game.

This time, they didn’t declare an end to their slump--or proclaim that a turnaround had begun. If their optimism was guarded after their 5-1 victory over the Yankees, it was because they know they have to follow the first good game with a second and a third and a fourth before it means anything at all.

“I guess that’s where the frustration of it all sets in for the guys,” Manager Doug Rader said.

“They know the kind of game they’re capable of playing and should be playing.”

They played well in every area Friday, helping Mark Langston join the Minnesota Twins’ Scott Erickson as the major leagues’ only 14-game winners. Wally Joyner drove in three runs with a single in the third inning and a two-run home run in the fifth against Scott Sanderson (10-6), and Langston gave up seven hits in 8 2/3 innings before yielding to Bryan Harvey for the final out.

“Obviously, this is a situation where we have to start winning ballgames, and we did a lot of positive things tonight,” said Langston, who has won six consecutive games at Yankee Stadium since Sept. 4, 1985.

“We need to start playing very well and playing up to our capabilities. Tonight, there were a lot of good signs.”

Joyner’s home run, his first since July 2, was one good sign. But so were the two runs they manufactured in the second inning against Sanderson, who had held them to one hit July 11 at Anaheim Stadium.

Dave Gallagher started things off in the second with a single to left and moved to second on Luis Sojo’s infield hit. Both advanced on Dick Schofield’s sacrifice, and Gallagher scored on Luis Polonia’s fly ball to center. Joyner’s single to right scored Sojo.

“It’s been a long time since I felt good up at the plate, probably since the All-Star break,” Joyner said.

“I think what I’ve been trying to do over the last week is do too much. I’ve been coming out for early batting practice and I’ve been doing fine in BP and in early hitting, then I’d change something in the game. You’ve got to stay with what got you here.

“We haven’t been playing very well and we all know that. We hope at this point to solidify the lineup. What we’ve decided to do as a ballclub is to get a set lineup and stick with it for a while.”

Staked to a 4-0 lead after Joyner’s two-out home run in the fifth, Langston worked smoothly into the later innings. His victory was his ninth this season after an Angel loss.

“He’s stepped in and really been the stopper out of the rotation for us,” Rader said. “I’m glad to see one of those guys (Langston and Chuck Finley) get off 13 (victories). I can’t wait until Finley’s off 13.”

Joyner was happy to help.

“Offensively, we’ve just been a little flat, but the pitching staff has been tremendous,” Joyner said. “The sad thing is we’ve lost a little bit of ground because of our lack of offense.”

They lost no ground Friday. His labors delayed by a 70-minute wait for thundershowers to subside, Langston gave up a leadoff homer in the seventh to rookie Hensley Meulens and a single and a walk in the ninth before Rader summoned Harvey, but Langston was determined to see this one through.

“I sure didn’t want to leave,” said Langston, who had missed one previous chance at his 14th victory. “I got that far and I didn’t want to come out. But Bryan Harvey’s the best.”

Harvey struck out Bernie Williams and got his 24th save, one short of his 1989 and 1990 totals.

“Mark did a fantastic job, and so did Harv,” Rader said. “We played well defensively, scored runs the right way, with a hit, a bunt, a sac fly and Wally’s homer.

“Luis and Wally got things rolling. The times we’ve had success over any period is because they’ve been doing good work and they’ve been a very big part of it.”

They’d like to play a big part in an Angel resurgence. “I’m a different player than what you saw two weeks ago,” Polonia said.

“I wasn’t having fun. But I got myself going, and every time I get going, the team follows me. I’m not going to step back. I’m going to make things happen.”