BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Tanana Experiment Not Going Very Well

The Angels hoped they could resurrect the magic, bringing pitcher Frank Tanana’s arm back to life.

They still hope that Tanana will be able to rejoin the Angel rotation 14 years after he left it, but reality is setting in.

Tanana, 40, struggled again Thursday in an 8-7 loss to the San Francisco Giants, yielding six hits, five walks and four earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.

“The temptation is to worry, but that would take away from what I’m trying to do,” Tanana said. “I’m just going to have to pitch my game and show them I have the ability to get outs.”

Sixteen batters have reached base in 4 2/3 innings against Tanana, who has a 17.36 earned-run average. Tanana was behind nearly every hitter Thursday and had poor control of his curve and changeup.

“He had to come in with his fastball,” Manager Buck Rodgers said. “When he does that, he can’t pitch. He just doesn’t have that kind of fastball.”

The Angels would love to keep Tanana, but are wondering if they would be better off with rookie Brian Anderson.

Tanana is expected to be given at least two more starts before the Angels reach any conclusions.

Said Tanana: “Management knows it’s hard to judge the first two or three outings. . . . . Of course, when you give up as many runs as I have, that’s easy to say, right?”

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Giant reliever Steve Frey faced his former teammates for the first time since his January departure as a free agent.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would come to this,” said Frey, who yielded two hits and three earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. “I thought I’d always be an Angel.”

Frey wanted to stay with the Angels, but when they refused to tender him a contract by the Dec. 20 deadline to avoid arbitration, he became a free agent. The Giants wound up winning his services by offering a two-year, $1.83-million contract with $150,000 in incentives. The Angels offered a two-year, $1.7-million contract.