Finley Helps the Angels Get Settled In at Home

ANAHEIM â€”  The Angels abandoned their usual chuck and duck routine against the Boston Red Sox Friday at Anaheim Stadium. It was the first time since, oh, the last time Chuck Finley started a game for them.

Finley didn’t make anyone forget Cy Young in a 3-1 victory over Boston in front of 19,550, but he was solid, reliable and a winner. At this point, the Angels won’t quibble with the results.

After all, Finley is about the only dependable starter they have in their beleaguered rotation. Well-pitched games have been infrequent since Mark Langston underwent knee surgery to repair torn cartilage May 8. Finley has won twice and Shawn Boskie once--and that has been it for the starters in the last 12 games.

“We needed to get off to a positive start,� Finley said of starting a nine-game home stand against Boston, New York and Baltimore, teams that had just beaten the Angels in six of eight games. “We had a tough road trip. We didn’t play well. We didn’t play aggressive.

“I tried to do what was expected of me [Friday]. I expect to pitch well. I expect to keep the game close and give us a chance to win.�

Finley worked his magic for seven strong innings, shutting out the Red Sox for 6 2/3 innings and extending his string of scoreless innings to 15. Boston third baseman Tim Naehring broke up his shutout bid with a bases-empty homer with two out in the seventh that cut the Angel lead to 3-1.

The Angels gave Finley a three-run lead and he ran with it, kept Boston’s power-hitting tag team of first baseman Mo Vaughn and designated hitter Jose Canseco fairly quiet and won his second straight start. They had back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning, but the Red Sox couldn’t score.

The victory ended a nine-game losing streak against the Red Sox. It also was the Angels’ first victory over Boston at Anaheim Stadium since last May 28.

Finley, 6-2 with a 3.97 earned-run average, had a complete-game victory with a season-high 10 strikeouts in a 10-1 victory Sunday over the Yankees.

This time, he went seven innings before turning a two-run lead over to Mike James to start the eighth.

“If I could pinpoint anything, it would be that I’ve pitched more aggressively the last five starts,� said Finley, who gave up four hits with six strikeouts and four walks and improved his ERA in his past five starts to 0.96.

Matters took a different course after James entered, however.

First, he plunked Canseco in the fanny, then hit catcher Mike Stanley in the head. Canseco woofed at James while trainers from both teams attended to Stanley.

After five minutes, Stanley was taken from the field on a stretcher. He was then sent to Anaheim Memorial Hospital where he spent the night as a precautionary measure. He will undergo a CAT scan today.

Troy Percival replaced James, who buried his face in his hands when he was seated in the dugout.

“There was no intent [to injure] on either pitch,� Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “Hopefully, [Stanley] is all right. Thank God for helmets. It’s a pretty sobering sound.�

Percival gave up a two-out walk to Troy O’Leary, but struck out pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell to escape from a bases-loaded jam with the lead intact.

In the ninth, Percival walked Vaughn with two outs, then got Canseco to pop up to end the game and earn his 13th save.

The Angels caught a break in this three-game series because they won’t have to face frequent tormentor Roger Clemens. Clemens, 23-7 lifetime against the Angels, recorded a complete-game victory over Seattle Thursday at Fenway Park.

Instead, the Angels faced Aaron Sele (2-4) Friday. They weren’t fooled by his arsenal of off-speed pitches, but catching up to the slow stuff was more difficult than you might think.

So, the Angels made do with a 1-0 first inning lead thanks to a one-out double from Garret Anderson, an infield hit from Tim Salmon and a throwing error by Naehring that enabled Anderson to score.

Anderson added a two-run single in the fourth for his first runs batted in since May 14.