Angels Score Seven in First, Then Hold On

Novocain meant to numb the pain of dental work ensured that Tom Candiotti felt no pain Monday.

His teammates wished they could say the same.

The frustration and pain of Toronto’s 10-9 loss to the Angels at Anaheim Stadium seeped through the visiting clubhouse as the Blue Jays rued the loss of an opportunity to increase their lead over the Red Sox in the AL East. Knowing Boston had lost and that they could only gain Monday, the Blue Jays instead saw Candiotti (13-12) rocked for seven runs in the first inning and watched the Angels hold off their comeback attempts throughout the game.

Bryan Harvey took the major league lead with 43 saves when he held Toronto scoreless in the ninth.

The Blue Jays’ last hope was quashed with one out in the ninth, when former Angel Dave Parker was called out trying to stretch a single into a double. Angel second baseman Luis Sojo later wordlessly gave the “safe” sign, but umpire Dale Scott’s “out” call was all that mattered.

“Was that frustrating?” said Toronto interim Manager Gene Tenace, whose team remained 1 1/2 games in front of the Red Sox. “No. The first inning was frustrating. Seven runs with two out.”

The Angels scored all their runs with two out, including the seven that raised Candiotti’s earned-run average from a league-leading 2.23 to 2.50.

Max Venable’s bases-loaded triple was the highlight of the first-inning, the Angels’ most productive inning since they scored seven against the Athletics last Oct. 3. Lee Stevens added three hits and three RBIs.

But even that early bounty wasn’t enough to keep alive Chuck Finley’s chances of winning 20 games. Finley, who has 17 victories and two starts left this season, was relieved after 3 2/3 innings, because Manager Buck Rodgers felt Finley might overtax his arm if he continued.

The Blue Jays scored twice in the second and twice in the third to narrow the Angels’ lead to 7-4, but the Angels made it 9-4 in the third on Stevens’ two-run single. Finley couldn’t hold that lead, giving up two doubles and a walk before Scott Lewis replaced him. Finley threw his cap into the stands as he walked off the field, his frustration apparent.

Despite giving up a homer to Kelly Gruber that made it 9-8, Lewis (3-5) got the victory.

“He had over 100 pitches in the fourth inning (actually 88), and he just wasn’t getting it done,” Rodgers said of Finley. “He was trying like hell, but he wasn’t getting it done. I went as far as I could go with him. I couldn’t go further.

“I wanted to win this game as much as anybody. But you can’t jeopardize everything. There’s more than one guy on the field. He’ll get his wins. I know it’s a tough one.”

Although Candiotti’s dancing knuckleball and sharp curve had baffled the Angels in his two starts against them for the Cleveland Indians earlier this season, he didn’t fool them Monday. They sent 12 hitters to the plate before Dave Weathers got Stevens to ground to first.

It began innocently, with Stevens’ infield hit. Dave Winfield followed with a single to left center. Gary Gaetti walked, loading the bases, and Venable emptied them with a triple down the right-field line, only his fourth hit in his past 24 at-bats.

Sojo kept the inning going with a bunt single, and he scored when Ron Tingley doubled over the head of center fielder Devon White. Candiotti faced two more batters, hitting Gary DiSarcina with a pitch and giving up an infield hit to Luis Polonia, before he was relieved by Weathers. Dave Gallagher greeted the right-hander with a single to left, scoring Tingley and DiSarcina.