Subdued Winfield Lifts Angels Past Brewers, 1-0 : Baseball: His single drives in only run of the game. Finley wins 17th.

If his second successive game-winning hit had lifted the Angels into first place instead of moving them within a half-game of leaving last, Dave Winfield’s smile might have been wider.

And if he hadn’t seen the Angels release his friend and contemporary, Dave Parker--and been forced to contemplate a more limited role as the designated hitter--Winfield might have been more elated by the Angels’ 1-0 victory over the Brewers Saturday at Anaheim Stadium, which made Chuck Finley (17-8) the third 17-game winner in the American League.

But there was no forgetting the day’s events, which left Winfield pensive and subdued despite a solid game that seemed to signal the end of his lengthy slump. He was two for 22 before Friday’s game and is hitting .257, down from .280 at the All-Star break.

“I just got a couple of key hits, that’s all,” said Winfield, whose first-inning single off Jaime Navarro (13-11) was the difference Saturday, just as his ninth-inning single Friday gave the Angels a 2-1 victory.

To Manager Buck Rodgers, Winfield lately has looked like his old self.

“He’s a line-drive hitter, always has been and until he hangs up his bat, always will be,” Rodgers said.

Winfield’s line single to left field on a 3-and-2 pitch by Navarro was all the support the Angels mustered for Finley. With the help of two strong throws by catcher John Orton, who caught Paul Molitor stealing third base in the fourth inning and got Jim Gantner at second in the fifth inning, Finley made that lead stand up for 7 2/3 innings. Rodgers took the ball from him and gave it to Mark Eichhorn before Molitor came up again in the eighth, drawing boos from the 26,366 fans but no disagreement from Finley.

Bryan Harvey gave up an infield single in the ninth but held on for his 36th save, extending his club record.

“Did you see me argue? I just got out of there,” Finley said. “When you’ve got Mark Eichhorn and Harv down there, there’s not much reason to argue with it.”

But Finley does intend to fight to get the Angels out of last place.

“It’s a long season, and you’ve got to grind it out, good or bad, all the way to the end,” Finley said. “They pay me a lot of money to do this, and I’m not going to give 85% because it’s August or September or whatever and we’re in last place. I’m going to take my tired bones out there and give everything I’ve got.

“Everybody’s disappointed in this season, but we’ve still got some time to pull out of the cellar. At least in our minds, we can say we didn’t flat-out lay down. We can still pass some teams and finish up in third.”