Collins Has Almost Seen It All

Terry Collins’ Angel managerial career was only three games old before Saturday night’s game, and already he had witnessed:

--His star closer, Troy Percival, blowing a three-run lead with two outs and none on in the ninth inning of the season opener, a 6-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

--His rookie right-hander, Jason Dickson, throwing a five-hit shutout to beat Boston, 2-0, Thursday night in a performance that was so masterful no Red Sox player reached second base.

--His cleanup hitter, Tim Salmon, smashing a dramatic grand slam in the bottom of the 11th to beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-6, Friday night after the Angels failed to score with the bases loaded and no outs in the 10th and coughed up the lead in the top of the 11th.

“But I guarantee you there are going to be nights when the score is 14-3 or something like that and we’re not going to have much to talk about,” Collins said.

“What I think these games have shown me is that this team hasn’t quit. The first game, after we fell behind, we loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth. We did it again [Friday] night twice. You don’t have any idea how important that is going to be down the road.”

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Percival has been the victim of several late-game Indian heroics, giving up three home runs in the top of the ninth inning of a 4-1 loss last May 12, and a two-out, three-run home run to Manny Ramirez in the bottom of the ninth of a 7-5 loss last Sept. 10 in Cleveland.

He was also in the Jacobs Field dugout on July 18, 1995, when Albert Belle hit a grand slam off Angel closer Lee Smith for a 7-5 victory. But Percival didn’t take any special pleasure in seeing Salmon return the favor Friday night with his 11th-inning dagger.

“I didn’t give a darn who it was against,” Percival said. “It was just great for our team. I hadn’t seen a whole lot of fight in us this season, but I did [Friday] night.”

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Reliever Pep Harris almost pitched himself back to the minor leagues with a 7.88 spring-training earned run average, but he has rebounded nicely, giving up one hit in three innings in his first two regular-season appearances.

Harris relieved starter Allen Watson in the fifth inning Friday night, got the Angels out of a jam by inducing a double play, and added two more hitless innings in the team’s victory over Cleveland.

“I think I just got serious about my job,” Harris said. “I wasn’t changing speeds in spring training, I wasn’t getting my breaking ball over . . . but when you get to this stadium, sit in the clubhouse, it does something to you. It gets the adrenaline going.”

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Pitcher Chuck Finley’s rehabilitation start for Class-A Lake Elsinore was a smashing success Saturday night. In his first minor league appearance since 1986, Finley threw four scoreless innings against San Bernardino, giving up two hits, striking out eight and walking none. Finley threw 55 pitches, and of his 10 pitches in the fourth inning, nine were strikes. He left the game with a 1-0 lead. . . . Salmon’s homer Friday night was believed to be the first time the Angels have won a game with a grand slam since Dick Schofield’s dramatic slam off Detroit reliever Willie Hernandez in a 13-12 Anaheim Stadium victory on Aug. 29, 1986. It was Salmon’s third career grand slam, and all have come in Anaheim Stadium.

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TONIGHT’S GAME

ANGELS’ MARK GUBICZA (4-12, 5.13 ERA last season) vs. INDIANS’ JACK McDOWELL (13-9, 5.11 ERA last season)

Anaheim Stadium, 5 p.m.

TV--ESPN. Radio--KTZN (710)

* UPDATE: Gubicza, who sat out 2 1/2 weeks of spring training because of a sore shoulder and is still building up arm strength, will be on about an 85-pitch limit, so the Angel bullpen will likely play a factor. McDowell, who for the first time in his career went on the disabled list in 1996 (strained forearm), has also had health problems this spring, missing his last two Grapefruit League starts because of a pulled abdominal muscle. McDowell pitched in an exhibition against Cleveland’s double-A team Monday and gave up 11 runs on 14 hits. The Angels will honor Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson with a pregame ceremony that will be hosted by ESPN commentator Joe Morgan.