There Is No Relief From Start to End : Angels: Fetters and three relievers take a beating. The bats come alive, but it’s too late in a 12-10 loss to the Yankees.

The theme of the Angels’ 12-10 loss to the New York Yankees wasn’t entirely new, but their 14th defeat in 19 games did feature some bizarre variations.

Middle relief pitching has been a weakness all season, a price the Angels pay for having starters whose durability limits the number--and ultimately the effectiveness--of the middle relievers’ outings. Relievers Floyd Bannister, Jeff Robinson and Scott Bailes cost the Angels a victory Saturday when they gave up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Mike Fetters (0-1) gave up four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his debut as the fifth starter, but the game got out of hand when the Yankees strafed Bannister, Robinson and Bailes for three runs in the fifth inning and five runs in the sixth to take a 12-4 lead.

It hardly seemed to matter except to their earned-run averages until the Angels’ inconsistent offense came to life and pounded Tim Leary and Steve Howe for six runs in the eighth inning.

The 45,647 fans at Yankee Stadium reserved their loudest cheer for Joe DiMaggio, who was honored during annual old-timers’ day festivities, but they gave the second-loudest ovation to Manager Stump Merrill for taking Leary out of the game.

“That was the ideal time for him to get some work, but he just couldn’t get it done,” Merrill said of Leary, who was demoted to the bullpen several weeks ago.

The Angels scored three runs on Bobby Rose’s pinch-hit home run into the first row of the left-field stands, a drive that was waved off as fan interference but allowed to stand after the umpires conferred.

Rose’s homer followed RBI singles by Dave Gallagher and pinch-hitter Donnie Hill, and Wally Joyner followed Rose with a single to left field.

“It looked like we were going to pull it out right there,” said Rose, whose homer was the first given up by Howe in 34 appearances since Sept. 15, 1987.

The Angels sent the potential tying run to the plate with two out in the ninth inning after a single by Hill, but Lance Parrish took a third strike from Steve Farr.

“There’s no difference if you lose a close game or a blowout,” Parrish said. “It’s worse to lose a game, period, no matter how you do it.”

It seemed clear that the Angels lost Saturday in the middle innings.

Fetters did well enough to get at least one more start, according to Manager Doug Rader.

“We’ve got to give a lot of those guys the benefit of the doubt--Mike and all the middle relief guys,” Rader said. “Bannister, Bailes, Robinson, they’ve all had spotty schedules. It was tough, and I think what happened today reflects that.

“There’s nothing you can do to avoid (the relievers’ struggles). If you’re planning on giving your middle relievers plenty of work to keep them sharp, you’re having a year you’re not going to be proud of.”

Bailes gave up a two-run single to Mel Hall and catcher Matt Nokes’ second homer of the game, a two-run shot to the upper deck in right field.

“If I threw (the home-run pitch) where I wanted to instead of where he wanted it, it wouldn’t have gone out,” said Bailes, who has pitched only twice since being activated off the disabled list July 15. “This (role) is not as tough as we’re making it, that’s for sure.”

Bannister, who last pitched on July 11, said infrequent work hampered his location. But he saw no solution.

“We have some of the best left-handed starters in baseball on this team,” he said. “I just have to let things unfold. I’m in no position to say anything. I just try to stay on an even keel and stay on my program.”

An easy victory was on the New York program until the Angels’ outburst. “They started scoring those runs, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh, no,’ ” said Pat Kelly, whose second-inning homer against Fetters had given the Yankees a 3-2 lead.

“You get real confident when you’re up eight runs, and your concentration level isn’t the same. All of a sudden, things got turned around.”

“I wish we could have chopped those 10 into two fives and saved some, if we were going to lose, anyway,” the Angels’ Dave Parker said, “but it was a good sign to see us getting timely hits and manufacturing runs. That’s one of the positive things we can take out of this.”