Finley Is Close Enough to Win : Baseball: His recovery is apparent in Angels’ 9-5 victory. Rose is beaned.

At peak form, Angel left-hander Chuck Finley and Toronto Blue Jay right-hander Dave Stieb boast precise command on the mound. Neither was at his best Tuesday, the second start for each since returning from injuries, and both made mistakes in the Angels’ 9-5 victory over the Blue Jays.

The difference was Finley’s mistakes were turned into home runs by two former Angels, a 403-foot drive to right-center by Dave Winfield and a 413-foot shot to center by Devon White. Stieb’s mistake turned into a frightening moment when he hit Bobby Rose on the left side of his helmet with a pitch, dropping the Angel second baseman face-first to the dirt, the ball caroming into the stands.

Rose was felled in the fourth inning, moments after Lance Parrish had hit a home run to left to give the Angels a 4-1 lead and silence the SkyDome crowd of 46,201. After an examination by Blue Jay physician Ron Taylor, Rose was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto for precautionary overnight observation. Although pale when he walked off the field, Rose never blacked out.

“He was alert and conscious,” said Ned Bergert, the Angels’ head trainer and Rose’s companion in the car that took him to the hospital. “They just wanted to keep him overnight. The doctor didn’t feel any further tests were necessary.”

Bergert also said Rose had no bump on his head, apparently because the blow was blunted by his helmet.

Asked if he thought the timing of the incident had been coincidental, Angel Manager Buck Rodgers paused before responding. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not going to say yes. I’m not going to say no.”

Stieb, who was idled by a herniated disk in his back for most of 1991 and lost his previous start this season, brushed off questions about Rose. “I have nothing to say,” said Stieb, who was relieved by David Wells after the fourth inning.

Finley (1-1) said he and his teammates doubted Stieb was trying to hit Rose in retaliation for Parrish’s home run.

“I’m sure if we thought he meant to hit him in the head, something would have been done about it,” Finley said. “I don’t think he was trying to hit him in the head. I think he was trying to pitch inside and keep him off the plate.”

Despite the homers by Winfield and White, Finley was generally pleased with his outing against the AL East-leading Blue Jays. So erratic around the plate last Wednesday that he threw 75 pitches in three innings, Finley found the strike zone far more easily Tuesday and lasted six innings with 89 pitches. He walked three and struck out three in recording his first victory since last Sept. 28.

“I had a lot better idea where my ball was going tonight,” said Finley, who began the season on the disabled list because of a sore left big toe. “I got locked in from the second batter on in, and I didn’t let the home runs take the air out of me. I feel like in two more outings, I should be right there. The only thing I’m waiting on is arm strength. Once I get that, the sharpness and everything will come right behind it.”

His lack of arm strength was a factor in both homers Tuesday. Of the seven hits he has yielded this season, five have been homers. Mark McGwire hit two and Rickey Henderson one last Wednesday, but Winfield--who later homered off Julio Valera in the eighth inning--and White outdid them for distance.

“I’m getting into counts like two and one or three and one, and I’m going to challenge them with my fastball,” Finley said. “They basically know what’s coming, and my fastball is a bit ‘short’ or flat. . . . Winny’s big and strong, and he got those arms extended. Devo (White) knew what was coming and did what he’s supposed to do. But as long as they’re solo shots, it doesn’t hurt so much.”

They didn’t hurt much at all, because after Winfield’s second-inning blast, the Angels came back with three runs in the third on Junior Felix’s two-run double and John Morris’ RBI single. After Parrish made it 4-1, the Angels added five runs in the sixth, an inning highlighted by Gary Gaetti’s second homer of the season and rookie Chad Curtis’ two-run triple.