Good News/Bad News in Langston’s Effort

Two hanging curveballs turned what could have been an outstanding spring-training start into a bit of a disappointment for Mark Langston on Tuesday.

Both mistakes came with two out in the fifth inning of the Angels’ 5-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics at Phoenix. The first resulted in Damon Mashore’s two-run double and the second in Jason Giambi’s RBI single, as the A’s got four runs and four hits in the inning.

“I had some people right where I wanted and didn’t finish them off,” said Langston, who will be the Angels’ opening-day starter. “I hung some breaking balls in crucial situations.”

Langston was sharp otherwise, giving up only three hits and a run in his other five innings. With a six-inning stint Tuesday and two more spring starts, Langston should have the endurance to throw eight innings by the season opener.

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The Angels made their first significant roster moves of the spring, but neither came as a surprise. Third baseman George Arias, who figured to lose his job when the Angels signed free agent Dave Hollins, was sent to triple-A Vancouver, as was reliever Greg Gohr, who was taken off the 40-man roster.

Arias, who won the third-base job as a rookie last season with a tremendous spring-training performance, batted only .200 this spring, including an 0-for-4 game Tuesday. Gohr went 1-0 but had an 8.44 ERA and gave up three home runs in 10 2/3 innings.

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An examination revealed that Chuck Finley, who has a fractured bone below his right eye, has no vision problems stemming from Saturday’s freak accident, in which he was struck in the face by an errant bat.