Angels Defeat White Sox, but Ace Finley Is Injured

The baseball shot off Chad Kreuter’s bat like a laser and headed directly for Chuck Finley’s left elbow, and no more than a split-second after impact, the Angel left-hander’s 14-game win streak had lost all relevance.

The Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3, before 37,500 at Edison Field Saturday night in an exciting game that included Damon Mashore’s game-winning, two-run double in the sixth, a double ejection of Chicago slugger Albert Belle and White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel in the seventh and a strange-but-true downpour and 14-minute rain delay before the eighth.

It was also the Angels’ ninth victory in 10 games, but it didn’t seem to matter. The most important Angel development came in the fourth inning when their best pitcher had to leave the game after being drilled by Kreuter, the former Angel-turned-White-Sox sniper.

At first, it appeared Kreuter’s two-out liner had nailed Finley in the left hip. The ball caromed toward the third-base line, where Finley, in obvious pain, retrieved it but had no play.

But when athletic trainer Ned Bergert came to the mound and began examining Finley’s elbow and forearm, and when Finley didn’t even attempt a warmup pitch before Manager Terry Collins summoned reliever Mike James, you could tell this was serious.

The preliminary report from the Angel clubhouse was that Finley, who was named American League pitcher of the month Friday, suffered a bruised left elbow and would be reevaluated today.

No X-rays were taken Saturday night--perhaps the Angels couldn’t bear the thought of more bad news during a week in which their best player, right fielder Tim Salmon, and one of their starting pitchers, Jack McDowell, went on the disabled list.

But Collins said afterward that he was convinced Finley’s injury is not as serious as it may have appeared.

“The ball actually hit him on the muscle just below the elbow, not flush on the elbow,” Collins said. “It swelled up, and he’s going to be sore [today]. I told him I’ve had about 10 of those throwing batting practice. He may not make his next start, but I think the most we’re looking at is one missed start.”

Finley, who left the stadium before the game ended, told Collins he could have remained in the game, but Collins said he removed him as a precaution.

“He probably could have pitched, but I was worried it would tighten up between innings,” Collins said. “He said he was OK, but he just stood there. That sucker hurt. It makes you sick to your stomach. Here’s a guy who makes a career with his left arm. I just didn’t want to mess with it.”

Compounding matters for Collins was the fact that neither of his two long relievers, Omar Olivares and Shigetoshi Hasegawa, were available Saturday night because both combined for nine innings in Friday night’s victory over the White Sox.

But James, Rich Delucia and Troy Percival combined to limit the White Sox to one run on three hits the rest of the way, and when Percival struck out Frank Thomas for his eighth save to end the game, the Angels enjoyed a nice but temporary distraction to Finley’s injury.

Finley, who entered with a league-leading 1.54 earned-run average and hadn’t lost a game since June 27, had given up two runs on four hits and struck out three Saturday night when he left with the score tied, 2-2.

Chicago scored in the first on Belle’s sacrifice fly, and the Angels countered with two in the bottom of the first when Jim Edmonds singled and Cecil Fielder lined a homer to left off White Sox starter Mike Sirotka.

Consecutive singles by Robin Ventura and Wil Cordero and Magglio Ordonez’s double-play grounder gave Chicago the tying run in the fourth, but the Angels went ahead, 3-2, in the bottom of the inning on Fielder’s walk, Dave Hollins’ single and Garret Anderson’s RBI single.

The White Sox tied it, 3-3, on Kreuter’s RBI double in the sixth, but the Angels avoided further damage when Anderson cut down Kreuter at the plate. Kreuter tried to score on Chris Snopek’s single to left, and catcher Matt Walbeck withstood a collision with Kreuter to make the tag.

Hollins and Anderson then singled with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and both scored when Mashore drilled a double inside the third-base line for a 5-3 lead.