Pitching Strong for Second Day in Row

The news was good on the Angel pitching front for the second consecutive day. Left-hander Mark Langston pitched four sound innings against the Milwaukee Brewers at Chandler, Ariz.

Langston’s fastball wasn’t particularly sharp, but his breaking and off-speed pitches were superb. He gave up one run on five hits in his longest appearance this spring. He had two strikeouts and no walks.

After a rocky first start, Langston has had consecutive standout outings.

“I don’t know about midseason form,” Langston said, laughing. “I still need to work on a few things down here. I felt pretty good and was around the strike zone. My fastball wasn’t as good as last time, but that’s part of building up my arm strength.”

Langston’s start came one day after Chuck Finley pitched for the first time this spring and reported no pain from shoulder tendinitis that had sidelined him since Feb. 18.

Langston and Finley are expected to fill the Angels’ top two spots in the rotation.

“That’s back-to-back good outings for him,” Manager Terry Collins said of Langston. “That’s got to give him a lot of confidence.”

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Shigetoshi Hasegawa is scheduled to make his third appearance and first start of the spring today, when the Angels host the San Francisco Giants. Hasegawa, 0-1 with a 4.50 earned-run average, has pitched four innings of relief.

“I want to see him start. He’s been a starter his whole career in Japan,” Collins said. “I think he’ll feel more comfortable to start. In the bullpen, he doesn’t feel comfortable warming up and getting ready to come into the game.”

Hasegawa, Jim Abbott and Jason Dickson are battling for the fifth spot in the rotation, the only real competition for a job in the Angel camp this spring.

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Right-handed starter Mark Gubicza, nursing a sore shoulder, might play catch later this week but is not expected to pitch until next week at the earliest. . . . Knuckleball pitcher Dennis Springer pitched three innings of shutout relief and Chuck McElroy retired the side in order in the ninth as the Angels defeated Milwaukee, 7-1. . . . Springer on throwing the knuckleball: “A long time ago when I was with the Dodgers, they told me it would take five to six years to learn it. That was a long time ago and I’m still learning it.” Springer has been tentatively slotted for a middle-relief role. He also would like to be considered for the fifth spot in the rotation. . . . Jim Edmonds, Darin Erstad and George Arias each tripled to lead the Angels’ 13-hit attack.