BASEBALL: DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Road Movies Help Polonia at Home

Luis Polonia is batting .341 on the road, so when the Twins’ Kevin Tapani held him hitless last week in Minneapolis, Polonia took note.

“He got me 0 for 4 over there, so I went back (Monday) and checked the tape,” Polonia said. “Normally, I’ve been doing really good on the road. I think he was the only one who got me 0-for-something on the trip.”

Polonia, who has a collection of videotapes in his locker and at home, spent some time before Monday’s game studying his at-bats against Tapani.

The result: Tapani pitched a four-hitter Monday, but three of the hits were by Polonia, who went three for four.

“I concentrated to see how he got me out last time, and I knew how he was going to pitch me,” Polonia said.

It was Polonia’s sixth three-hit game of the season, and lifted his average to .296, which is as high as it has been since May 24, when he was at .305.

Polonia said he was keying on Tapani’s forkball, which was news to interim Manager John Wathan and hitting instructor Rod Carew, who did not think Tapani threw a forkball, and said Polonia might have been talking about Tapani’s circle-change. But Twin Manager Tom Kelly said Tapani does throw a forkball.

It all goes to show: It doesn’t matter what you call it, if you hit it.

Alvin Davis, preparing to leave for Japan where he has agreed to play for the Kinetsu Buffaloes, was in an Angel uniform Tuesday, working out with his former teammates to stay in shape.

Angel coach Ken Macha, who spent four seasons in Japan, has been briefing Davis a bit on what to expect. One interesting tradition involves gifts to players who hit home runs.

“One time I got 500 pounds of rice as a gift. It was in a town where rice was the specialty,” Macha said. “Too bad it wasn’t a town where they made Toyotas.”

Left-hander Chuck Finley pitched Monday with a strained right buttock muscle. He received an injection Tuesday, and is expected to be available for his next start. The injury was apparently sustained during a workout between starts. . . . Wathan said the Angels do not plan to use the off-day Thursday to juggle their rotation, and instead will give all the starters an additional day’s rest. . . . Designated hitter Hubie Brooks, on the disabled list with a strained neck, is uncertain whether he will be ready to come off Sunday, the first day he is eligible. Though the injury doesn’t limit his range of motion much, he said it is painful. He has yet to resume drills. . . . Former Angel Donnie Hill, recently activated from the disabled list after sitting out 33 games because of a strained back, started at second base for the Twins.

The Angels passed the 1,000,000 mark in attendance Tuesday, drawing 23,045 to reach 1,019,029 after 36 games. At the same point a year ago, the total was 1,124, 542.