Angels’ Grahe Manages to Save Day : Baseball: He gets out of ninth-inning jam in 2-1 victory over Brewers.

Because former Angel Dante Bichette was up next, Joe Grahe didn’t mind walking Milwaukee Brewer designated hitter Paul Molitor with one out in the ninth inning and Pat Listach on second base with the potential tying run.

“With Molitor up there, I was flat-out pitching around him, because I knew I could get Bichette to hit a ground ball if I pitched him inside,” Grahe said. “I did, but he just happened to beat it out.”

Then, after Bichette’s fielder’s-choice grounder moved Listach to third, Grahe scolded himself for walking pinch-hitter Darryl Hamilton and intensifying the suspense.

“Don’t I always, though?” Grahe asked, smiling.

He made the ending dramatic, but Grahe preserved the Angels’ 2-1 victory Wednesday by getting pinch-hitter Franklin Stubbs to fly out to center field.

“Thankfully, I found the strike zone just in time,” Grahe said after saving the victory for Mark Langston (11-10) before an Anaheim Stadium crowd of 23,338. “I don’t hear too many knees clattering when I go out there, but maybe that’s part of it, that I surprise some people.”

Bichette, who drove in Milwaukee’s only run with a fourth-inning single, was happy to see Grahe succeed, although Grahe’s 13th save sent the Brewers to their third consecutive loss.

“He’s doing a pretty good job. I’m glad to see that they’re giving him a chance,” Bichette said of Grahe, whom he still considers a friend. “Still, I wouldn’t have minded pinning a loss on him today. We sure could have used a break. They played us three very tough games. They didn’t score many runs, but they got good pitching and they can shut you down.”

The Angels held the Brewers to three runs while sweeping the three-game series, winning the last two by one-run margins.

Walks proved decisive in those last two games: Rob Ducey drew a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 victory in 10 innings Tuesday, and successive two-out walks to Ron Tingley and Ducey in the second inning Wednesday put Tingley in scoring position for Gary DiSarcina, who sent him home with a single to right off Bruce Ruffin (1-4).

“It felt good to contribute. I haven’t been feeling good about myself for the past week,” said DiSarcina, whose batting average had dropped to .241, its lowest point since he was hitting .200 three games into the season. “I was just trying to make plays in the field and do one thing good while I wasn’t doing the other thing (hitting) good.”

Junior Felix’s seventh home run, a drive to left with one out in the third, ended the Angels’ streak of 64 innings without a homer and provided their second run against Ruffin.

“The home run I could live with, but the two walks were the biggest part of the game,” Ruffin said. “After that, I got into a groove. It’s nice to pitch well, but when you pitch like that, you expect to win.”

He didn’t win because Langston gave up only two hits and struck out six while throwing 96 pitches in the afternoon heat.

“I felt real comfortable with all three of my pitches,” said Langston, who had a good changeup and a lively fastball. “They gave me enough runs, and Joe picked me up in the ninth. . . .

“Pitching’s our strong point. We’ve got some good pitchers on this team, and for once, it seems like everybody’s put it together. And it does carry over: You see guys go out there and pitch well, and you want to do the same.”

The combined efforts of Langston and Grahe gave pitching coach Marcel Lachemann a 2-0 record as the substitute for interim Manager John Wathan, who is attending his father’s funeral today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“(The Brewers) are a tough team against left-handed pitchers,” Lachemann said, referring to Milwaukee’s 19-11 record against left-handed starters. The Angels, by comparison, are 6-20.

“They’re hitting .300 against left-handers, so we knew the two left-handers (Chuck Finley and Langston) were going to have to pitch well,” Lachemann added. “You couldn’t do much better than they did.”