Washburn Showing Natural Talent

The left-handed pitcher who stopped the Angels’ losing streak Sunday wasn’t Chuck Finley. He was quite a bit shorter, much younger and a natural blond.

It’s doubtful Jarrod Washburn will ever bleach his hair, as has Finley, but he seems to be a dyed-in-the-wool pitcher, just as Finley is. His performance Sunday was another example of that idea.

Washburn threw six shutout innings before giving up two runs in the seventh against the San Diego Padres, who with the Atlanta Braves, have the best record in the National League. By then, the Angels were well on their way to an 11-3 victory, ending a two-game losing streak--their first consecutive losses since late May.

“I’m just amazed by his presence on the mound,” Manager Terry Collins said of Washburn (4-0). “He has great composure. He knows what he has to do and never gets away from that. He got some balls up today. But when he gets in trouble, he doesn’t try to overthrow, or throw the nastiest curve. He just makes his pitch.”

Washburn struck out three and gave up no walks. He gave up eight hits, but remained calm. His first inning would have been nerve-racking for most rookies--Andy Sheets lined out to left, Tony Gwynn lined out to left and Greg Vaughn hit a towering drive that left fielder Darin Erstad caught at the fence.

Washburn was hardly concerned.

“I seem to have a lot of line drives hit at people every game,” said Washburn, who lowered his earned-run average to 3.38. “It doesn’t worry me.

“I was hit pretty hard in the first half of last season [at double-A Midland]. My confidence went down the tubes. I would get really [ticked] off when I got home, wondering what I was doing wrong. I finally said, ‘Screw it,’ and just went out and pitched. My confidence level has been pretty good since then.”

Washburn has pitched into the sixth inning in all five starts since being put in the starting rotation when Allen Watson was injured. His four consecutive victories is one short of the Angel record for a pitcher starting his career. Terry Clark (1988) and Bo Belinsky (1962) each won their first five decisions.

Clark has made the rounds, winning only five more games with seven different organizations. Belinsky started buying rounds, winning only 23 more games before drinking his way out of baseball.

Washburn seems to be on a different course.

“He’s not like some guys who get called up and think they already have had 10 seasons up here,” said Finley, who has a club record 149 victories. “He seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders. He’s not going to get overwhelmed.”

Finley came into a pennant race as a rookie. He made the jump from Class-A Quad City at 21 and went 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA in 15 games with the Angels in 1986.

Finley was a reliever then. Washburn is a starter.

“Every time he goes out there, he has to try to win,” Collins said. “The chance to develop a guy on a winning club is not there.”

It’s Finley, Washburn said, who has softened that harsh reality. Pitching coach Marcel Lachemann handles Washburn’s technique, but it’s Finley who helps with his teammate’s psyche.

“There is no better guy for me to go to than Chuck,” Washburn said. “He’s a left-hander, like me.”