Magrane Reverts, Angels Lose, 8-4 : Baseball: After a solid start against the Brewers on Sunday, he fizzles in short stint against the Tigers.

In his last start Sunday, Angel left-hander Joe Magrane was superb. Friday night, he was not.

Sunday, he gave up one run and four hits in his first complete game in four years. Friday night, he gave up four runs and six hits with three walks, three strikeouts, three wild pitches and one hit batter. He didn’t make it past the fifth inning and the Angels lost, 8-4, to Detroit at Anaheim Stadium.

Sunday, he dazzled the Milwaukee Brewers with a firm command of his pitches. Friday night, he couldn’t contain the Tigers, who homered for the 17th consecutive game.

Dumping all the blame for this loss on Magrane, 2-3 with a 6.57 earned-run average, wouldn’t be fair. This was only his seventh start since returning from elbow surgery Feb. 8. Besides, there were plenty of other reasons why the Angels lost for the sixth time in eight games on this 10-game home stand.

But inconsistent pitching continues to overshadow all other Angel problems. Five wild pitches--relievers Mark Leiter and Mike Butcher had the other two--stand out.

Chuck Finley struggled against Detroit on Thursday, losing for the second time in his past three starts.

Moreover, Finley’s four victories lead the staff and his 4.61 ERA is the lowest among the starters.

Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann knew better than to expect another complete game from Magrane. He was only counting on seven innings from him on Sunday; anything else was strictly a bonus.

But Lachemann did say he thought Magrane’s confidence would be soaring when he took the mound for Friday night’s start.

Concerns would appear to be mounting for the listless Angels, who managed only seven hits against Detroit. But Lachemann said he’s not a fan of team meetings and doesn’t imagine holding court in an attempt to snap the Angels out of their slump any time soon. He prefers to handle things in a one-on-one setting.

“Meetings have their time and place, but it’s like anything else,” said Lachemann, who did hold a meeting when the club was in Toronto in late May. “If you’re talking all the time, nobody will listen. I would rather deal with individuals. I will get (angry) once in a while and I wouldn’t want my wife and kids around when I do.

“It takes quite a bit to get that far with me.”

The Angels are 3-10 since Magrane defeated Detroit and starter Mike Moore (7-4) on May 26 in Tiger Stadium. They are 2-7 in June, 8-12 under Lachemann and have fallen to a season-high 6 1/2 games behind American League West-leading Texas.

Is that enough to send Lachemann into a fit of anger?

Certainly, nothing could save Magrane from himself Friday.

He left trailing, 4-2. Travis Fryman’s two-run home run to right in the fifth gave the Tigers their lead.

By then Magrane had thrown 109 lackluster pitches and Lachemann believed that was plenty, summoning Leiter to start the sixth.

Leiter picked up where Magrane left off, walking Juan Samuel, who promptly went to second after a wild pitch sailed to the backstop.

Tony Phillips followed with a sharply hit grounder that first baseman J.T. Snow couldn’t handle and Samuel scored for a 5-2 Detroit lead.

Chili Davis’ 11th homer of the season, a solo shot into the right field bleachers, cut the Tiger lead to 5-3 in the sixth.