BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Grahe Keeps Eye on the Ball

Joe Grahe, the Angels’ starter today, narrowly escaped injury Saturday when he misjudged a ball bouncing off the artificial turf while shagging flies in the outfield and was struck in the left eye.

Grahe was examined by Dr. John Bradford, a Kansas City ophthalmologist, who dilated the pupil of the pitcher’s eye and found no damage besides a bruise above the eye. Grahe is scheduled to take his turn as planned.

“I went in to get a ball and the turf was wet,” he said. “I was expecting more of a bounce, but it went under my glove and hit me in the eye. My vision was blurry at first, but they said it’s going to be fine.”

Grahe laughed about it later. “I hope I have a black eye tomorrow. I’ll look more menacing,” he said.

Mark Langston felt some stiffness in his left hip Saturday but was encouraged by the results of the throwing he did Friday. Langston missed one turn and will probably miss at least one more. Chuck Finley, who will throw today, is scheduled for his first start of the season Wednesday. “I want to give Langston another good workout (before scheduling him to start again),” Manager Buck Rodgers said. “I don’t want to lose him or Chuck for an extended period of time. We’re getting through this mini-crisis pretty well and I don’t want to have a bigger crisis.” Rodgers said Langston might start against the Mariners next weekend at Anaheim Stadium, and he hopes to get the rotation back to normal for the next trip, to Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit.

Lance Parrish’s home runs Friday and Saturday were his first in successive games since he homered off Minnesota last Aug. 13-14-15. . . . Hubie Brooks’ pinch double in the eighth inning was the first hit by an Angel pinch-hitter this season. Their pinch-hitters were 0 for 6. . . . Scott Lewis had a raised welt on the back of his right leg as a souvenir of the line drive by George Brett that struck him Friday. However, the leg wasn’t as stiff Saturday as he had expected and shouldn’t keep him from pitching. . . . In his second start for double-A Midland, Bert Blyleven pitched seven innings in a 5-0 Midland victory at El Paso. Blyleven, attempting a comeback from rotator cuff surgery, is 1-1 in two starts and has given up one earned run in 13 innings. . . . Gary DiSarcina’s second-inning double Saturday was his first extra-base hit of the season.