Blyleven Finished Early Again : Angels: Winning streak comes to an end as Yankees hit four homers and capitalize on Gaetti’s error at first, 8-3.

Stubborn enough to try to overpower hitters when his best fastball is only a memory, Bert Blyleven is stubborn enough to ignore the ticking of the clock that threatens to signal the end of his comeback.

“I’ve got all the time in the world,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Unfortunately for Blyleven, that’s also true of his progress.

Blyleven’s fifth attempt to earn his 283rd victory ended during the fifth inning Sunday, when the Yankees batted around and scored four runs--three of them earned--in an 8-3 victory over the Angels before 24,084 at Anaheim Stadium.

Blyleven (3-4) gave up three harmless singles until the fifth, when two singles, a sacrifice that was botched by first baseman Gary Gaetti and Dion James’ home run sent him to the dugout.

While Curt Young (2-2) stymied the Angels after the first inning, dropping their record to 3-18 against left-handers, the Yankees pounded Scott Bailes for two homers in his first appearance since June 28. Kevin Maas also homered, against Steve Frey during the ninth.

Gaetti hit a two-run homer against Greg Cadaret during the ninth to end the Angels’ homerless-streak at home at 71 innings, but Cadaret struck out Rene Gonzales, Jose Gonzalez and Ron Tingley to end the Yankees’ six-game losing streak and ensure Blyleven would lose for the 242nd time.

“He was pitching pretty well, and then we got a couple of hits and things kept happening,” said James, who lined a Blyleven changeup 369 feet to right.

In his last five outings, covering 18 2/3 innings, the 41-year-old right-hander has given up 33 hits and 24 earned runs, an earned-run average during that span of 11.57. Overall, his ERA has ballooned to 5.29 from 1.67 on June 16, the date of his last victory.

Which might remain his last for a while.

“He’s got to pitch better than he has or we’ve got to make a decision,” interim manager John Wathan said after the Angels’ six-game winning streak ended. “He pitched well the first four innings, but had trouble in the fifth. He’s had trouble in the fifth his last few starts. This time, he went with more days’ rest (nine) because of the All-Star break and we thought that would help him, but he still couldn’t make the pitches he had to make.”

Blyleven would give himself another chance if he were the pitching coach.

“In the fifth inning I got the first ball up to (Randy) Velarde and then to (Matt) Nokes, I just got the ball in on him and he got a base hit,” Blyleven said of the back-to-back singles to right that started the flurry.

“James, I didn’t think he hit the ball that far. That’s the old Sunday afternoon at Anaheim, where the ball carries well.

“First of all, I should be out of that inning, anyway.”

He might have been out of the inning--or escaped with less damage--if Gaetti had snared third baseman Gonzales’ throw on a bunt by Pat Kelly. Gonzales charged and fielded the ball cleanly, making a throw that was slightly into the runner but catchable. When it glanced off Gaetti’s glove, Velarde scored and Nokes went to third. Nokes scored on Andy Stankiewicz’s grounder to the right side.

“It’s just too bad that cost us the ballgame, or cost us the starting pitcher,” said Gaetti, who has played seven games at first in his career, including the last two. “We couldn’t ever recover from that.”

The Yankees made sure they wouldn’t recover, scoring three runs during the sixth on Velarde’s third homer of the season, Kelly’s fourth and Don Mattingly’s run-scoring single.

While disheartened by the defeat, Blyleven believes he can win again.

“I thought I threw the ball well today. I just got some pitches up,” he said. “I’ve got to sometimes take my stubbornness away. When I get into trouble, I’ve got to throw softer, not harder. It’s been a little bit of a battle. I have to keep hitters off balance, like I did in the first four innings today.

“I don’t throw like I used to and I have to adapt to that. The biggest thing I’m going through right now is I’m trying to be too aggressive. I have to throw more off-speed pitches. I can’t throw the ball by anybody anymore, and that’s something, with the stubbornness in me, that is hard to swallow.

“I’m not going to give up on myself. As long as they keep giving me the ball, I’m going to go out there and do the best I can.”

Angel Attendance

Sunday: 24,084

1991 (41 dates): 1,289,071

1992 (41 dates): 1,162,776

Decrease: 126,295

Average: 28,360