There’s No Time for Relaxing Now

There will be no rest for the Angels for the rest of the season. They play 17 games in 17 days--barring rainouts. That’s fine with Manager Terry Collins, who is no big fan of time off during a division race.

There are reasons to back him up. The Angels have lost seven consecutive games after days off, including three in the last 10 days. Collins said it might have blunted the team’s momentum after an impressive 6-4 trip to New York, Boston and Cleveland.

“I think we had a rhythm going,” Collins said. “Guys get into a routine. I know I have a routine. When you have a day off, that routine gets broken. I’m glad our off days are over.”

The Angels’ final day off was Thursday, as they flew east and will play the Baltimore Orioles today.

“I think we will be back into it by the end of the weekend,” Collins said. “We have a night game, followed by a day game. The players can get caught up in things pretty quick.”

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Any questions about Troy Percival’s shoulder were answered by his one-inning performance against Minnesota on Wednesday. He overpowered the Twins, retiring them in order with two strikeouts, for his 39th save, tying him for the league lead with Boston’s Tom Gordon and Texas’ John Wetteland.

Percival had sat out two days because of a sore shoulder.

“It’s not a big deal to me, but it does let [the Rangers] know they will be facing me and the entire bullpen next week,” Percival said. The Angels have five games remaining against the Rangers. “It shows them we’re all healthy down there.”

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Jack McDowell is in the middle of a division race, which is why he pushed himself to return from an elbow injury.

“If we were 10 games out, I would probably be at home right now,” said McDowell, who has said he probably will retire after this season. “It’s the only reason I’m back.”

The Angels are certainly glad he is. McDowell, who sat out 2 1/2 months, is 3-1 with a 3.04 earned-run average since he returned.

ON DECK

* Opponent--Baltimore Orioles, three games.

* Site--Camden Yards, Baltimore.

* Tonight--4:30 PDT.

* TV--Channel 9 today, Channel 11 Saturday.

* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 80-65, Orioles 73-72.

* Record vs. Orioles--5-3.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ CHUCK FINLEY (11-6, 3.08 ERA) vs. ORIOLES’ SCOTT ERICKSON (14-11, 4.08 ERA)

* Update--The Angels swept two games from the Orioles on their last trip to Baltimore. Finley is coming off a solid performance, pitching eight shutout innings against Kansas City. He also threw 147 pitches. The Orioles won 27 of 34 games after the All-Star break to pull within seven games of the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card race, but they have since faded, losing 10 consecutive games at one point, and are 9 1/2 games behind the Red Sox.

* Saturday, 10 a.m.--Steve Sparks (9-3, 4.47) vs. Mike Mussina (13-8, 3.45).

* Sunday, 10:30 a.m.--Jack McDowell (4-3, 4.14) vs. Sidney Ponson (7-8, 5.40).