Angels, Finley See Stars

In what could be a sign of these pitching-poor times, two all-star pitchers with earned-run averages hovering around five squared off Wednesday night at Anaheim Stadium.

Texas’ Roger Pavlik, who brought an impressive 10-2 record and a very unimpressive 5.16 ERA into the game, was matching forkballs with Chuck Finley, who was 9-6 with an ERA about to skyrocket to the heights of one of the pre-Fourth of July fireworks that brought a season-high 45,979 to the Big A, and the Rangers won, 8-1.

Neither seemed ecstatic about being selected--Finley said, “I guess I’ll go,” and Pavlik was so overwhelmed he beamed, “It’s nice to be picked”--but maybe the honor was at least a bit of inspiration for Pavlik, who had given up seven runs and failed to survive the first inning of his last start.

The Ranger right-hander gave up 12 hits and picked up his league-leading sixth complete game as first-place Texas extended its lead over the Angels in the American League West to 8 1/2 games.

It wasn’t Pavlik’s best outing, but it was a long way from his worst, and given the way the Rangers are scoring runs this season, you don’t have to be Warren Spahn to rack up a slew of victories. After all, Pavlik has already failed to get a decision in three games when the Rangers scored 26, nine and seven runs.

Maybe Finley, who joined Nolan Ryan as the only Angel pitchers to be selected to four all-star teams, had the right idea when he reportedly considered rejecting this year’s selection. He has given up 19 runs in his last 18 innings and his ERA is now 4.95.

“My last two starts have been just terrible,” said Finley, who dropped a 6-3 decision to Oakland last Friday. “I’m making three bad pitches for every good one, and you’re not going to have much success with that ratio.

“The ball was just getting up over the plate and they were cranking on it.”

Finley, the renowned grinder, was ground up this time. Juan Gonzalez had been terrorizing Angel pitchers the past two nights, but every Ranger with a bat was putting the whammy on Finley, who made 113 pitches--just eight fewer than Pavlik--in 5 2/3 grueling innings of work.

“They’ve got a nice, solid club and they’re doing a lot of things well,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “They got us with depth tonight, a lot of their extra guys hurt us.”

Only Gonzalez was hitless against Finley and he had a run-scoring single off Rich Monteleone, who came on in relief of Finley.

Designated hitter Mickey Tettleton doubled into the gap in left-center in the fourth and scored on Dean Palmer’s double down the left-field line to give Texas a 1-0 lead. Former Angel Rene Gonzales got the first of three hits and Kevin Elster followed with a line-drive double to left to make it 2-0.

Gonzales doubled again in the sixth and Damon Buford, who did not have a homer in his first 63 at-bats, got his fourth in the last 22 when he lined a shot over the fence in left-center to give Texas a 4-0 lead. One out later, Mark McLemore doubled and, after an intentional walk to Rodriguez, Rusty Greer chased Finley with a run-scoring single to center.

Rex Hudler broke up the shutout when he scored after leading off the sixth with a single, advancing to third on Anderson’s double to left and coming home on Chili Davis’ single up the middle.

“We just couldn’t sustain anything offensively,” Lachemann said. “We left too many guys on base. Twelve hits and one run isn’t going to get it done.”

Texas scored twice more in seventh off reliever Jim Abbott on two walks, a Gonzales single, a sacrifice fly by Elster and a run-scoring single by McLemore.

Third baseman Tim Wallach said Monday that the Angels truly believed they could play with the Rangers, they had only to prove it.

But the proof was in the pounding after this three-game series: Texas batters ripped out 34 hits and scored 21 runs and the Angels needed a dramatic-and-improbable ninth-inning rally Tuesday night to avert a sweep.