BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Harkey Signed and Will Start Friday

General Manager Bill Bavasi went to the waiver wire for pitching help Wednesday, signing former Cal State Fullerton right-hander Mike Harkey, who will start Friday night against Detroit in Anaheim Stadium.

Harkey, 29, was released this week after going 4-6 with a 6.27 earned-run average for the Oakland Athletics, who replaced him in the rotation with rookie Ariel Prieto.

The fourth overall pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 1987 draft and The Sporting News’ National League rookie pitcher of the year in 1990, Harkey’s career has been plagued by injuries and a failure to live up to expectations.

He went 12-6 with a 3.26 ERA for Chicago in 1990 but spent time on the disabled list during the 1989, ‘90, ‘91, ’92 and ’93 seasons. He missed most of the ’91 season because of an arm injury.

The hard-throwing Pomona native, who went to Ganesha High, turned down a lucrative offer to sign with the Angels in 1994, opting to play at Colorado, where he went 1-6 with a 5.79 ERA.

He signed a minor-league contract with the A’s last spring but lost some velocity on his fastball and struggled with his control. The Angels knocked him around for five runs on seven hits in a 7-1 victory July 2.

“We hit him hard at Oakland,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “But that can be said of a lot of people this year. He’s healthy, and he’s had a lot of good stretches over the years.”

Harkey may not be the solution to the Angels’ long-term, right-handed pitching shortage--Bavasi is still pursuing a trade for an established right-hander.

But with Shawn Boskie and Mike Bielecki on the disabled list and a shortage of quality right-handers at triple-A Vancouver, Harkey is probably better than any option within the Angel organization.

Vancouver utility player Mark Dalesandro was designated for assignment to make room for Harkey on the 40-man roster, and Lachemann will have to clear a spot for Harkey on the 25-man roster on Friday.

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Mark Langston has never pitched in a postseason game but felt like he was in one Tuesday night at Cleveland, where a capacity crowd in Jacobs Field saw the Indians beat the Angels, 7-5, on Albert Belle’s ninth-inning grand slam.

“There was definitely a playoff atmosphere--that whole series had a lot of intensity for a July series,” said Langston, who gave up three runs in seven innings. “You could feel their fans there, and that was a big bonus for them.”

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Shortstop Gary DiSarcina had started 53 consecutive games, going the last 42 without making an error, before Lachemann gave him a much-needed night off Wednesday. “I’m no iron man,” DiSarcina said. “We’re in the middle of a long stretch of [18 consecutive] games, and I didn’t get any days off at the All-Star break.” . . . For the record: Today’s 4:30 p.m. game against Toronto will not be televised by Channel 5. The Times incorrectly reported in Wednesday’s Angel on-deck box that the game was on TV.