Finley Fizzles in 14-2 Angel Loss; Belle Hits 2 Homers

Until now, he’s found explanations for his failures--the umpires narrowed the strike zone, his location was spotty, he couldn’t find his rhythm--but Chuck Finley might have run out of explanations Friday.

The Indians pounded Finley for seven runs in four-plus innings, including the first of two home runs by Albert Belle and a two-run shot by Carlos Baerga, and went on to embarrass the Angels, 14-2, before a crowd of 22,332 at Anaheim Stadium.

Finley, who signed a four-year, $18.5-million contract last December after his second successive 18-win season, has lost four of five decisions this season and hasn’t won any of his six starts since April 28. He has given up 13 homers in 41 1/3 innings, more than three times the rate opponents homered against him last season, when he yielded 23 in 227 1/3 innings.

All that stood out in the Angels’ fifth consecutive loss and ninth in their last 10 games were Finley’s struggles and the season-high margin of defeat.

Belle homered off Finley in the fifth and off Scott Bailes in the eighth to increase his season total to 11, seven of them in his last 22 at-bats. He has also homered in each of his last four games at Anaheim Stadium. Belle, Baerga and Kenny Lofton each drove in three runs to lead the Indians’ 18-hit offense and help Denis Boucher (1-0) cruise ease to his second major league victory.

Finley has given up two or more homers in a game six times this season, compared with only three last season. His earned-run average soared to 5.88 from 4.82, both figures well above his career 3.35 ERA and the 2.40 he posted in 1990.

The club record for margin of defeat is 15, set in a 17-2 loss to the White Sox May 31, 1978 at Chicago.

Between his start last Sunday at Baltimore and Friday’s outing, Finley and pitching coach Marcel Lachemann watched old tapes of Finley’s delivery in an effort to detect why he’s had so much trouble with his location this season. They decided Finley’s posture was too straight and that he needed to tilt backward at a certain point, a change he was to incorporate Friday.

Finley induced enough early ground outs to indicate his pitches were in the strike zone or low, rather than high. But Baerga negated Finley’s progress in the third inning, when he lined a two-out, two-and-two pitch into the left-field seats for a two-run home run, giving the Indians a 3-0 lead.

Finley was on the verge of working out of trouble in the third. Sandy Alomar Jr. led off with a single up the middle, and Lofton grounded into a double play. Hill followed with a single to left and Baerga came up with his 11th career hit--and first homer--off Finley in 23 at-bats.

Finley was clearly laboring by the fourth. Carlos Martinez led off by dumping a single into short right and took second when Finley bounced a curveball that eluded catcher Mike Fitzgerald for a wild pitch. Brook Jacoby drew a full-count walk before Mark Lewis flied to right, with Martinez taking third on the play. Finley managed to strike out Alomar, but Lofton laced Finley’s first pitch to him into right field, scoring Martinez.

The Angels manufactured a pair of two-out runs--the kind managers love--in the fourth to cut Cleveland’s lead to 4-2.

Hayes drew a leadoff walk and went to second on Gonzalez’s single to left. Brooks grounded into a double play, moving Hayes to third, and Rene Gonzales followed with a shot to third that ricocheted away from Jacoby but stayed in front of him. Jacoby recovered quickly, but Gonzales beat his throw for a hit and an RBI.

Gary Gaetti kept the fans happy when he pushed a single past short and into center field for a single, moving Gonzales to second, and Lance Parrish drew applause when he singled to center, scoring Gonzales and recording his first RBI since April 28. However, Gaetti was caught in a rundown trying to go from second to third, ending the inning.

The runs became almost meaningless in the fifth, when the Indians scored four times and sent a stony faced Finley back to the dugout after failing to retire the first three hitters he faced.

Finley hit Baerga with a pitch to start the inning, and Belle didn’t even wait to take a pitch before slamming Finley’s first offering 423 feet and over the fence in left-center, his 10th homer of the season.