Langston Gets 18th as Angels Beat Blue Jays, 2-1

Just as the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t want Minnesota winning the American League West at their expense, the Angels don’t want to witness a SkyDome celebration.

Dave Winfield hit a two-run double in the eighth inning, and Mark Langston and Bryan Harvey combined on a three-hitter Monday night as the Angels beat the AL East-leading Blue Jays, 2-1.

Toronto’s magic number remained three against second-place Boston, which beat Milwaukee, 9-8, and closed to within 3 1/2 games.

“The Jays have probably the best chance of going all the way, and we just don’t want them to dance and party on us,” Winfield said. “So we’re just doing our best to ward that off.”

Langston, who earned his 18th victory, had that same sort of feeling in 1989.

“When I was in Montreal, I had to watch the Cubs clinch it there,” he said. “It was not a good feeling. We’re trying to battle out of last place. We don’t want them to win with us here. There’s a lot of pride involved.”

The Blue Jays know the feeling. They were coming off a 2-1 series victory over Minnesota that forced the Twins to celebrate out of town. Toronto has two more games against the Angels and a day off before ending the season with a three-game series at Minnesota.

“It would be real nice to clinch it here, to go into into Minnesota with it,” Toronto Manager Cito Gaston said. “We could give guys . . . the chance to rest. I don’t think (Twin Manager) Tom Kelly would mind, either. He’d probably like to rest some of his guys, too.”

The crowd of 50,321 raised Toronto’s total to 3,900,880, breaking the major league record the Blue Jays set last year (3,885,284). Toronto has had 64 consecutive sellouts and has enough advance sales to ensure reaching 4 million.

Langston (18-8) struck out six and walked three in 7 1/3 innings. He trailed, 1-0, entering the eighth on shortstop Dick Schofield’s throwing error. It was a strong comeback from his last effort against Toronto--a 7-2 loss at Anaheim in which he gave up seven runs and eight hits in five innings.

“I got ahead and definitely had a little better fastball and breaking ball,” he said. “Especially with the circumstances that are happening here, it’s very satisfying.”

Harvey struck out Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to end the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth for his league-leading 45th save.

“He’s the best in baseball, if you ask me,” Langston said of Harvey. “There’s nobody better.”

There certainly isn’t anybody better in this series. Toronto bullpen ace Tom Henke is out with tendinitis in his right shoulder.

Jimmy Key (16-12) gave up six hits in 7 1/3 innings.