BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Finley Pitches Five Scoreless Innings

As final tuneups go, Chuck Finley’s scoreless five-inning exhibition stint against the Padres on Saturday at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium was a rousing success. It was the left-hander’s longest, most impressive outing in three games this spring.

But Finley cautioned against expecting too much when he starts for the Angels against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night at Anaheim Stadium. Six innings might be as long as he goes.

“I think all they’re looking for is a smooth six innings,” Finley said of the expectations of Manager Marcel Lachemann and pitching coach Chuck Hernandez.

Even if he has a shutout going, as he did Saturday, Finley said he won’t press Lachemann to finish. “I might not get the same opportunity when I start (for the second time), against Toronto,” he said. “I might be standing out there wondering why my left arm is 64 inches long and my right arm is only 38 inches.”

Finley gave up five hits, had three strikeouts and led, 7-0, after throwing 59 pitches. Eduardo Perez’s two-run homer in the second and Tim Salmon’s three-run homer in the third helped make it easy for Finley, who said: “I told the guys, ‘Don’t spoil me too early.’ ”

Gary DiSarcina, Jim Edmonds and J.T. Snow also hit homers in the 11-1 victory.

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Reliever Mitch Williams got himself into and out of a sixth-inning jam, when he walked the leadoff hitter and gave up consecutive singles. He avoided big trouble by getting Eddie Williams to hit into a bases-loaded double play, scoring the Padre run, then retired Ken Caminiti on a groundout.

Williams reported no pain in the strained right thigh muscle that had limited him to one appearance before Saturday.

“The first batter, I was a little antsy,” he said. “Once I got the bases loaded, I felt comfortable. I felt (the muscle) pull only on one pitch and that was it. I think it’s fine.”

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General Manager Bill Bavasi offered this assessment of the Angels:

“The kids on the corners (first baseman Snow and third baseman Perez) have to step up. The fourth and fifth spots (in the rotation) have to pitch well. If those things come around, we can contend.

“Seattle has a good lineup, but if we can get past (pitcher Randy) Johnson, maybe we can get to them. Oakland doesn’t scare us. Texas doesn’t scare us.”

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Fernando Valenzuela made his second less-than-impressive appearance for the Padres, giving up two runs and four hits with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. “With his kind of stuff, he has to be picture-perfect and sometimes he is,” Bavasi said. . . . The Padres gave away more than 47,000 tickets to Saturday’s exhibition game, but only 19,410 showed up. The Angels hope to draw 50,000 on opening night by charging $1 a ticket. . . . The Angels’ Mark Langston will start against the Padres’ Joey Hamilton tonight at 6 at Jack Murphy Stadium. The exhibition series will move to Anaheim Stadium on Monday and Tuesday.