Angels’ Finley Regains His Form

Chuck Finley gave up only four earned runs in six starts during May, a stretch of domination unheard of in this the era of the booming bat. But then a June gloom rolled over him and he was rendered just another expediter of inflated hitting statistics, giving up four or more runs in each of his next nine starts.

Then, just as mysteriously as it had disappeared, Finley regained that magic touch Monday night. The forkball dipped, the fastball sailed, the curveball snapped and the Tigers flailed. The Angel offense didn’t fare much better against right-hander Omar Olivares, scratching out only four hits, but Jim Edmonds’ solo homer was all they needed as they clung to a 1-0 victory in front of 16,336 at Anaheim Stadium.

Finley struck out seven--reaching the 1,500-strikeout plateau when he fanned Brad Ausmus in the fifth inning--and did not walk a batter until he lost Mark Lewis on a 3-2 pitch with two out in the eighth. It was his last pitch of the night as Manager Marcel Lachemann summoned Troy Percival, who picked up his 26th save, but not before a few hearts skipped beats in the Angel dugout when Travis Fryman and Cecil Fielder hit drives to the warning track.

“I’ve looked at a lot of tape trying to figure out what I’ve been doing wrong and it seemed like it always came down to three bad pitches,” Finley said. “I had been going for the corners and getting into counts where I had to come in over the plate, so tonight I tried to stay aggressive and keep ahead.”

The eighth had all the markings of a here-we-go-again 1996 Angel moment. Finley struck out Andujar Cedeno and then Kimera Bartee reached first when he hit a line shot that was in Finley’s glove momentarily before dropping at his feet. Bartee stole second before Chad Curtis grounded to short. The walk to Lewis brought on Percival, who stood frozen as Fryman ripped a fastball to deep left.

Darin Erstad made the catch in front of the Angel bullpen.

The ninth was another exercise in breath-holding. Fielder led off with a bomb that Edmonds caught with his back up against the 386 sign in right-center. Pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson followed with a high fly ball to left and Melvin Nieves struck out.

“I was thinking about getting back there to go up [the wall] after it,” Edmonds said, “but I guess Cecil didn’t get all of it because when he does, it goes out of any park.”

Matched against the worst team in baseball, the slumping Angels appeared as if they were going to out-inept the Tigers in the early innings. They loaded the bases in the first inning and came away without a run after Edmonds, J.T. Snow and Randy Velarde struck out.

Detroit third base coach Terry Francona managed to one-up them in the second. So impressed with Fielder’s mobility as he lumbered down the line to beat out a swinging bunt, Francona sent him home on Ausmus’ double to left. Gary DiSarcina’s relay beat Fielder to the plate by, oh, 60 feet or so, giving catcher Jorge Fabregas way too much time to contemplate the impending collision.

The 265-pound Fielder, however, tried a tricky fade-away slide, missed home by about 10 feet and was an easy out.

The Tigers messed up a chance to tie the scorewith another baserunning blunder in the fourth. Lewis reached first on an error and stopped at second when Fryman followed with a single. Fielder hit a rocket to center, but Edmonds ran it down and made the catch while slamming into the wall in left- center.

Lewis who was almost halfway to third, never retreated to second to tag up. He just sauntered over to third. The Angels threw to second, but umpire Joe Brinkman made no call.

Lachemann argued briefly, then had Finley throw to second again--following proper appeal protocol--and Brinkman signaled Lewis out, ending one of the most lengthy double plays in history and, as it turned out, the Tigers’ best chance of winning.