Angels in Dream State After Beating Chicago

Joyous laughter swept through the clubhouse. A strong feeling of confidence filled the air. There was even the ebullient chatter of a September pennant race.

Who would imagine this scene materializing these days in the Angel clubhouse?

While it may seem preposterous for the Angels to even be dreaming about a division race, their 7-3 victory Friday over the Chicago White Sox left them intoxicated with euphoria.

“There’s still a long ways to go,” said Angel starter Chuck Finley (13-8), who kept the White Sox in check for 6 2/3 innings, “but we’re not out of this thing. It’s like we can see the actual ground being made up.

“We may not be the smartest guys in the world, but everyone in this room can count, well, to at least 100. So I think we can all figure out that if we win all three games in Chicago, we’re only six games out.

“Then anything is possible.”

The Angels (51-57) moved to within eight games of the White Sox with their seventh victory in 10 games, and if nothing else, they’ve proved to themselves that they can play with the White Sox.

It’s almost as if the division-leading White Sox (59-49) have become the Angels’ patsy this season. The Angels have beaten them five times in seven meetings, scoring at least four runs in six of the games.

“When you beat a team like this,” Angel catcher Ron Tingley said, “you say, ‘Yeah, we’re great.’

“But then we turn around and get our butts kicked by Oakland. I mean, it’s been crazy.”

Really, no victory this season has seemed so absurd for the Angels, who ended a nine-game road losing streak in front of 32,856 at Comiskey Park.

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers even had difficulty fathoming how the Angels could score seven runs and produce 16 hits with Chad Curtis grounding into three double plays, cleanup hitter Chili Davis striking out three times and hitting into a double play and No. 3 hitter Tim Salmon getting only one hit.

“I can’t remember a game we’ve won without one of three guys being a part of it,” Rodgers said.

Well, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and try to digest this:

--Tingley, who entered the game batting .197 with five runs batted in, drove in two runs by going two for two with a sacrifice fly.

--Second baseman Rod Correia, just hoping for an opportunity to prove that he can be an everyday player, went two for three and raised his batting average to .455.

--Stan Javier, starting in place of struggling leadoff hitter Luis Polonia, went four for four and reached base five times, his best offensive showing since 1990.

--Rookie third baseman Eduardo Perez, with his father Tony Perez watching him in a major league game for the first time, went three for five, breaking open the game with a two-out, two-run single in the third inning.

A quartet that has been in the starting lineup only 68 games this season batted .786 (11 for 14) with six RBIs. The four produced more offense than the White Sox’s entire lineup, which had no extra-base hits.

Really, the only suspenseful moment came in the seventh inning, when Bo Jackson led off with a single off the left big toe of Finley. Yes, the same toe that was operated on 20 months ago, and was responsible for Finley’s 7-12 record last year.

“As soon as the ball hit it,” Finley said, “I said, ‘Great, there goes my $40 pedicure.’ It took a couple of minutes, though, for me to get the feeling back.

“I came back to the bench, took off my shoes, and counted all my toes. It started changing colors on me, but I’ll be all right.”

Finley couldn’t finish the seventh, giving up four of his eight hits and all three runs in the inning, but Gene Nelson came in and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for his first save since June 16.