Angels Turn Page on Valenzuela, 8-4 : Baseball: He gives up six runs for the Orioles as Curtis, Salmon and Davis hit homers against him.

“Fernandomania III: The Final Chapter” came to a ballpark near you Friday night, and it bore a striking resemblance to “Fernandomania II: The Sequel.”

There was an abundance of curious Southern California fans, eager to see if Valenzuela could recapture the glory of his Dodger days, plenty of pitches that could be compared to Fernando’s 1981 paunch, and plenty of baseballs rocketing through the air in Anaheim Stadium.

Only this time, the Angels were the beneficiaries of Valenzuela’s fat offerings, roughing the left-hander up for six runs and seven hits in four innings of an 8-4 victory before 37,162 in Anaheim Stadium.

Chad Curtis, Tim Salmon and Chili Davis each homered for the Angels, Rene Gonzales added three singles and a run batted in and Curtis tied a club record with four walks, equaling a team mark set by Brian Downing against Chicago on July 30, 1988. Curtis also stole two bases, bringing his league-leading total to 25.

The Angel bullpen provided some more harrowing moments, as reliever Ken Patterson gave up a single to Mark McLemore and walked Harold Baines during the seventh before being replaced by Scott Lewis, who gave up RBI singles to Leo Gomez and Chris Hoiles. Suddenly, a comfortable 6-2 lead was 6-4.

But Steve Frey retired David Segui on a fielder’s choice with runners on first and second to end the threat, and the Angels gave him some breathing room in the eighth, scoring on RBI singles by Gary DiSarcina and Luis Polonia to push the lead up to 8-4.

Frey retired the side in order in the eighth but needed help in the ninth from Gene Nelson, who struck out Chris Hoiles with runners on first and second for his first save since Aug. 11, 1990, when he was an Oakland Athletic.

The Angel victory, coupled with losses by Chicago, Texas and Kansas City, gave the Angels sole possession of first place in what is shaping up as a relatively weak American League West.

“It’s almost June, and we haven’t solved all the problems we had hoped to solve after 40 games,” Angel Manager Buck Rodgers said. “That’s the bad news. The good news is that neither has anyone else. Oakland, Seattle, Minnesota, Chicago, Kansas City, they’re all having problems.”

Much as Valenzuela (1-5) has had in Anaheim Stadium.

Valenzuela hadn’t pitched around these parts since 1991. He was in an Angel uniform then, making a comeback bid with two objectives--shore up the home team’s No. 5 starter spot and help boost sagging attendance in Anaheim Stadium.

Valenzuela lasted only 6 2/3 innings in two starts against the Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers, giving up 14 hits and 10 runs, and was released shortly thereafter.

Valenzuela spent the 1992 season playing in his native Mexico, but with the Orioles so desperate for pitching, they took a chance and signed Valenzuela to a minor league contract this spring.

The 33-year-old surprised Oriole coaches and management by, first, making the team, then pitching respectably in several of his first seven starts. He entered Friday’s game with a 1-4 record and 4.09 earned-run average, but Baltimore had scored only 17 runs for him.

Valenzuela showed flashes of the old Fernando early Friday, using his screwball to strike out Davis during the first inning and John Orton during the second, but he looked more like Fernando circa-1991 during the third.

Curtis, who had singled, stole second and third, and scored on Gonzales’ single in the first inning, hit Valenzuela’s first pitch of the third into the left-field bleachers for his second home run of the season and second in his last 17 at-bats, and the Angels were on their way.