Angels Provide the Fireworks Early for 61,292

There wasn’t much to it for Angel pitcher Chuck Finley on Tuesday night. He merely had to throw strikes, then lean back and watch his team make it painfully obvious how long it has been since the last World Series.

They did so with a 14-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, technically the defending world champions.

Of course, that was back in 1993 and much has happened since. Most noticeable to the Anaheim Stadium crowd of 61,292--the largest in the major leagues this season thanks partially to a post-game fireworks show--was how far the Blue Jays have fallen and how far the Angels have come.

The victory kept the Angels a game ahead of the Texas Rangers in the American League West. The loss drop the Blue Jays deeper into the East cellar, 13 games behind the Boston Red Sox.

“You look at their lineup and one through nine is tough,” Finley said. “It’s hard to figure out what’s wrong.”

Not that he wasted much time considering it. It was more enjoyable basking in another run-glut start.

The Angels, who averaged a little more than two runs in Finley’s first five starts, have given him 34 runs in his last two. They defeated Texas, 20-4, last week, then came back with 14 hits, three each by J.T. Snow, Garret Anderson and Gary DiSarcina, Tuesday.

Snow had four runs batted in. DiSarcina and Damion Easley each had three.

“I’m going to get spoiled,” Finley said. “They gave me a chance to relax and make a few mistakes.”

If he did, they were not apparent.

While the Blue Jays are a mere shell of their 1993 self, Finley was the same. He was good in 1993 and, unlike the Blue Jays, has maintained that level.

A week from now, Finley will be attending his third All--Star game, even if a so-so 7-6 record raises an eyebrow or two. But the other numbers are hard to argue.

Finley was 0-4 after a 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on May 17 and has won seven of nine games since. His losses came against Seattle’s Randy Johnson and Boston’s Roger Clemens.

“What’s tough about Chuck is the angle his fastball comes at you,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “He is so tall that it comes downhill at a pretty severe angle.”

Finley allowed only three hits and struck out six in seven innings, lowering his earned-run average to 2.92. Relievers Mike James and Bob Patterson finished up.

“Chuck was Chuck,” Easley said. “It doesn’t matter if we give him 14 runs or one, he’s going to pitch well.”

Given the choice, Finley will take the 14.

“Actually, I was saying, ‘Enough,’ ” Finley said. “I was losing some of my sweat between innings.”

Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston had no such problem. He saw starter Juan Guzman, a pillar during those championship years, fall apart again.

The Angels scored four in the third and four in the fourth, with Snow figuring prominently in both. He had two-out, two-run singles in each inning to match his career single-game high in RBIs with four. He is 14 of 29 in his last seven games.

Easley ended a four-for-28 slide with a two-run double in the third, making him six for 12 against Guzman. Easley had a run-scoring single to match his single-game career high with three.

“He was getting the ball up a lot,” Easley said.