The Problem Isn’t Yankees; It’s Salmon

NEW YORK — This must be Mudville, because there never seems to be any joy for the Angels, not even after Chuck Finley threw one of the franchise’s best-pitched games in years to lead the Angels to a 1-0 victory over the vaunted New York Yankees Wednesday night.

Shortly after Finley’s masterful eight-inning, three-hit, 11-strikeout, two-walk, 131-pitch effort, in which he outdueled right-hander David Cone before 23,540 in Yankee Stadium, the bad news began circulating around the Angel clubhouse.

An arthrogram revealed that right fielder Tim Salmon’s sprained left wrist is worse than the Angels originally thought, and the team’s leading hitter and run producer will be sidelined for at least five weeks.

The wrist was put in a short-arm cast, where it will remain for three weeks, and Salmon, the cleanup batter who was hitting .347 with seven homers and 25 runs batted in, will need to rehabilitate the wrist for another two or three weeks before returning.

“I didn’t want to hear news like that,” said Manager Terry Collins, who is already without center fielder Jim Edmonds and shortstop Gary DiSarcina and has seen 10 players, including first baseman Mo Vaughn, go on the disabled list this season.

“We just beat the best team in baseball in a tremendous game. You talk about getting a sock in the gut. I’ve taken enough body blows this year. You just have to know the bruise will go away.”

How many times can this team get blindsided? The Angels thought DiSarcina would be ready for the season opener; he needed surgery that will sideline him until the All-Star break.

They thought Edmonds would be ready for the season opener; he underwent shoulder surgery and is out until September. They thought pitcher Jason Dickson had a sore shoulder; he needed surgery to repair torn cartilage and may be out for the year.

They thought Salmon would be back for this weekend’s series against Tampa Bay; now his hopes of making the All-Star game for the first time in his seven-year career are all but shot.

“There’s always a cloud that seems to follow us,” Finley said. “There’s so much positive energy and sunshine in here, but it just can’t seem to break through.”

It did for a few hours Wednesday night, when Finley and Cone matched each other pitch for pitch, inning for inning, until Angel shortstop Andy Sheets’ hit-and-run double scored Orlando Palmeiro from first in the seventh inning for the game’s only run.

Tensions were high after Angel closer Troy Percival hit Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter with an up-and-in fastball Tuesday night, but there were no retaliatory strikes by the Yankees Wednesday night, no beanball wars, simply spectacular pitching.

Percival, who has become as much a villain in New York as John Havlicek and Jerry West, had a hand in the shutout, striking out two of three batters in the ninth, including Tino Martinez looking at a curve on the outside corner, for his seventh save.

Finley (2-3) mixed a vicious forkball that induced many erratic swings of pitches that bounced in front of the plate, a little cutter that ran in on right-handed batters and away from left-handers, a curveball and a fastball that he spotted on both sides of the plate.

The left-hander is now 16-8 with a 3.52 earned-run average against the Yankees after the Angels’ first 1-0 victory in Yankee Stadium since Dean Chance shut out New York on Aug. 23, 1966.

“That was the best forkball and the best location of his fastball that I’ve seen,” Collins said. “That’s why I consider Chuck Finley a great pitcher. I don’t care what the numbers say. When I need a big game from a pitcher, this guy has come through.”

Finley had to be near perfect because Cone (4-1) was outstanding, giving up one run on five hits and striking out eight in seven innings. Cone’s only blemish was the seventh, which Palmeiro started with a walk. After Charlie O’Brien struck out trying to bunt Palmeiro to second, Sheets slapped a double into the right-field corner that scored Palmeiro standing up.

Finley was so dominant he actually struck out four batters in the third inning, the 33rd time in major league history, 14th time in American League history and second time in Angel history (Ryne Duren in 1961) a pitcher has accomplished the feat.

After Shane Spencer singled to open the third, Scott Brosius struck out. Joe Girardi reached on third baseman Troy Glaus’ throwing error, and Chuck Knoblauch struck out on a nasty forkball.

Derek Jeter struck out on a similar pitch, but the ball bounced in the dirt, and O’Brien, the Angel catcher, couldn’t find it fast enough to prevent Jeter from reaching first. Finley, with the bases loaded, struck out Paul O’Neill to end the inning.

“You combine pitching like this and the Yankee lineup and you think it might be a tough night,” Finley said. “But I still have to be aggressive. I wasn’t going to nibble and get into hitter’s counts, where they can kill you.”

Until the seventh, the only Angel threat was in the third when Vaughn reached third with two out on Garret Anderson’s single. But Cone, who kept Angel batters guessing with an excellent fastball, slider and a sweeping breaking ball, struck out Glaus to end the inning.

“That’s about as well-pitched a game as I’ve seen two guys have,” Collins said. “No matter what game plan you take to the plate against Cone, he’d tie you into knots because he changes his approach so much. That’s why he’s got a 1.33 ERA.”

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* VILLAIN IN N.Y.: Tuesday wasn’t the first time Troy Percival hit a Yankee batter. Page 8