BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Bullpen Not Yet a Relief for Grahe

Eight saves and 15 relief appearances after he was moved to the bullpen, Joe Grahe has yet to feel completely comfortable as a reliever.

But his last doubt could be removed tonight, if the Angels get into a save situation and call on him. No longer bothered by soreness in his right elbow, Grahe is ready to try pitching on two successive days.

“If I can come in (tonight), that will be important,” said Grahe, who on Sunday earned his eighth save in nine chances in the Angels’ 4-3 victory over the Tigers. “If my arm was able to go after it two nights in a row, I’d feel more comfortable.

“It’s kind of weird still. When you come to spring training and you’ve got the premier closer in the league (Bryan Harvey, on the disabled list for the second time), you don’t expect to be thrown into this role.”

Learning to pace himself while in the bullpen has been a challenge, but he’s learning with the aid of bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez. “Today, after they jumped out, 3-0, I thought, ‘I’m not going to get into this game,’ ” he said. “But the way things have been going for us, I started to get the feeling in the seventh inning that I should get ready. Chuck helped tell me when to turn it up or back off.”

Harvey, who had to stop throwing after experiencing discomfort in his elbow, will see team orthopedist Lewis Yocum today. Jim Abbott (pulled rib-cage muscle) was also told to stop throwing. . . . The Angels are 13-6 in games decided in the seventh inning or later. . . . They are two games above .500 at home (25-23) for the first time since July 20, 1991, when they were 26-24. . . . Sunday’s victory was their 17th come-from-behind victory and fifth of the home stand. . . . The Tigers are 0-8 in Sunday road games.

You’re in the big leagues now: Tim Fortugno, who pitched a three-hit shutout Saturday to earn his first major league victory, was interviewed by a Detroit radio station Sunday and was given a gold-plated watch as payment. It was more extravagant than the gift he received for being interviewed in double-A El Paso. “I used to get dinner to Denny’s,” he said. “I always looked forward to that, because I could take my family out to eat.”

Fortugno will get at least one more start while Abbott is sidelined, but he is not thinking beyond his start against the Seattle Mariners Thursday. “If I learned anything in the minors, it’s that I can’t control decisions made by the front office,” Fortugno said. “I just do the best I can do and let them take it from there.”

Research by the Angels’ public relations department has shown Fortugno’s 12-strikeout performance Saturday wasn’t the highest total by an Angel rookie. Jorge Rubio struck out 15 in a 2-0 victory over Cleveland on Oct. 2, 1966.