So This Is the Way It’s Done

It wasn’t the lineup Angel Manager Terry Collins envisioned last winter. Second baseman Randy Velarde had been traded to Oakland, outfielder Darin Erstad was on the disabled list, and shortstop Gary DiSarcina had the day off.

But it was the kind of results Collins thought he’d see a lot more of this season. Living up to preseason offensive expectations--at least for one weekend--the Angels pounded Detroit, 10-2, before 34,237 in Tiger Stadium on Sunday, completing a three-game outburst in which they scored 24 runs.

Troy Glaus keyed a four-run first inning with a two-run homer, Garret Anderson hit a two-run homer off the facade below the right-field roof and Todd Greene hit a solo homer in the fourth.

And Tim Salmon made his last at-bat in Tiger Stadium a memorable one, blasting a three-run homer into the upper deck in left in the ninth.

Angel left-hander Chuck Finley, free of the mental clutter he carried up until the July 31 trading deadline, had his third consecutive superb start, giving up two runs on six hits and striking out a season-high 12, including four batters in the first, before leaving because of a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

The Angels had 14 hits, three each by Glaus and leadoff batter Trent Durrington, and six of their runs Sunday, including all four in the first, came with two outs.

“What we showed this weekend is we’re a better team than what we’ve showed this summer,” Collins said. “All we’re trying to do is make the next six weeks as productive as possible. I saw some bright things this series, some hustle, some good defense . . . it showed there’s some heart here.”

It has been tough to find an Angel pulse since the All-Star break. The team has lost 23 of 30 games to fall 20 games behind Texas, and in six consecutive losses before the Detroit series, the Angels scored a total of 11 runs.

But the combination of a weak opponent--Detroit has the worst record in baseball--some inconsistent Tiger pitching and some good table setting by the top of the order injected some life into the Angels.

“You don’t want to put added pressure on people, and you don’t want to talk about it, but the guys in the third, fourth and fifth spots can’t do their jobs unless the first two guys get on base,” said Mo Vaughn, who smacked a 440-foot RBI double off the center-field wall in the first.

“That’s what makes the offense go. Garret seems to be thriving at the top of the order, and that starts it up. You get guys on base, you put pressure on the pitcher. We haven’t done that consistently all season. That’s the key to the game. You do that, you can bunch some things together. The pitcher has to throw strikes, and that’s when you get the two-run and three-run homers.”

Finley (7-10) took full advantage of the support, pitching one of his best games of a season that, for him, has taken a 180-degree turn this month.

In eight starts from June 24 to July 31, as trade speculation surrounding Finley peaked, the left-hander gave up 43 earned runs in 41 2/3 innings. In three starts since the deadline passed, Finley has given up three earned runs and 15 hits and struck out 26 in 21 1/3 innings.

“I don’t know if a burden was lifted [after the trade deadline],” Finley said. “It’s more like I had something less to deal with every day when I came to the park. . . . My mind is freed up a little more.”

Finley was aggressive with his fastball Sunday, hitting the inside corner consistently, and he struck out hot-hitting Tony Clark three times. His forkball was so nasty that catcher Ben Molina couldn’t handle a third strike to Dean Palmer in the first inning, allowing Palmer to reach on a wild pitch.

Finley, who struck out Deivi Cruz and Juan Encarnacion earlier in the first, then struck out Clark for his fourth strikeout of the inning, the 35th time in major league history a pitcher has accomplished that feat. Finley became the first to do it twice--he struck out four in the third inning against New York on May 12.

“Maybe that will end up on one of those video trivia machines in some bar somewhere,” Finley said. “It’s one of those freaky things.”

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ATLANTA: 5

DODGERS: 4

Ismael Valdes pitches seven strong innings before the bullpen lets him down in an 11-inning loss to the Braves. Page 3