Angels Enter New Race as Finley Stops the A’s

For some teams, the pennant race is in the home stretch.

For the Angels and Florida Marlins, the drive to woo Jim Leyland has only begun. Sources in Pittsburgh confirmed Wednesday that both clubs have asked for and been granted permission to talk to the Pirate manager, who Tuesday announced his resignation effective at season’s end.

“He’s going to be tops on a lot of people’s lists, but I guarantee you we’ll make a strong attempt to get him,” left-hander Mark Langston said. “When I heard he said he wanted to go to a team with a legitimate chance to win, I went, ‘Yeah!’

“This team definitely fits that criteria.”

The Angels, who had lost seven in a row, may have suddenly decided to start showing that potential during their last 10 games, just in case Leyland is watching.

With their best starter, Chuck Finley, on the mound, the Angels took advantage of some fortunate bounces, came up with a few clutch hits--a rare commodity lately--and came away with a 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics before 18,213 in Anaheim Stadium.

Langston may be gung-ho to play for Leyland, but the two-time National League manager of the year won’t come cheap. He signed a four-year, $4-million deal with the Pirates last November and probably won’t settle for less when he agrees to a new contract.

With the Marlins’ billionaire owner Wayne Huizenga involved, Disney may be faced with spending some of the money earmarked for a starting pitcher on a manager.

Jim Edmonds, who stranded seven runners Tuesday night, drove in Chili Davis in the fourth inning with a bounder just beyond the grasp of diving first baseman Mark McGwire. And the Angels scored twice in the sixth after Garret Anderson singled and scored when Tim Salmon’s drive to right eluded right fielder Brian Lesher and went for a triple. Davis followed with a run-scoring single.

The A’s left two runners on base in each of the first three innings--they had runners at second and third with no outs in the third--before Ernie Young hit a home run well beyond the fence in center.

But Finley, who tied his season -high with 10 strikeouts and surpassed his career best in that department with 199 on the season, struck out six of the next 11 batters before leaving in the seventh. He gave up only five hits in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 14-15.

Mike James got the last out in the seventh inning and gave way to Troy Percival after yielding a leadoff walk to McGwire in the eighth. Percival walked three and gave up a bloop single, but he also struck out two and got McGwire to hit into a inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the ninth to pick up his 35th save.

All of which added up to the Angels’ second victory in the past 12 games and a 66-85 record . . . . exactly the same as the Pirates.