ANGELS RIDE HOT PAIR TO WIN PAIR : ANGELS 5-8, BOSTON 4-5.

Byline: Associated Press 

The Angels rode two hot hands to two more victories Friday.

Chuck Finley earned his sixth consecutive win to tie Nolan Ryan atop the the team's career victory list as the Angels beat Boston 5-4 in the first half of a day-night doubleheader at Fenway Park. In the second game, Tim Salmon's sacrifice fly broke a ninth-inning tie to help Anaheim win 8-5 and complete the sweep.

``Everybody said, `When this guy gets on a roll, he's the guy you can ride.' And right now, he's on a roll,'' Angels manager Terry Collins said of Salmon.

Earlier, he said virtually the same thing about Finley.

``Good teams, they depend on the No. 1 guy to stop streaks and give you winning streaks,'' said Collins, whose Angels have won 14 of 17. ``That's what he's done. That's his role.''

Anaheim took a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning of the nightcap before the Red Sox rallied to tie it. It was still 5-5 in the ninth when Darin Erstad led off with a triple.

Dave Hollins' fly to right was not deep enough to score the run. With two bases open, Boston manager Jimy Williams decided to intentionally walk Jim Edmonds, who was 2 for 3 in the second game and 5 for 7 on the day.

That meant Tim Wakefield (4-12) had to pitch to Tim Salmon, who was 2 for 3 in the second game and wound up the day 4 for 7 with five RBI. He hit a fly ball deep enough to center to allow Erstad to score easily.

``You just kind of take it personally. You say, `OK, they want to pitch to me,' '' said Salmon, who is hitting .418 (33 for 79) with seven homers and 28 RBI in July. ``He walks Dave in front of me, I think, `OK, it's my opportunity to get that run. I want that run.' ''

Garret Anderson then touched Wakefield for a two-run homer to make it 8-5. Mike Holtz (3-2), the fourth Angels pitcher, earned the victory with 1-1/3 innings of no-hit relief, and Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his 14th save.

In his much-anticipated major-league debut, Red Sox starter Brian Rose mowed through the Angels in the first inning with two strikeouts and a groundout before coming off the field to a standing ovation.

But Rose, who was 13-4 with a 2.84 ERA in Triple-A, gave up two runs in the second and two more in the 37-pitch third. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed five hits and two walks in all, striking out three in three innings.

``Rose showed a lot of composure. He's earned an opportunity to pitch again,'' Williams said, before adding: ``Maybe here, maybe there (in the minors).''

Rose was long gone by the time Wakefield came on to start the eighth inning. Wakefield, who leads the AL in losses, pitched two innings, allowing two hits and an intentional walk.

Darren Bragg and John Valentin homered for Boston.

Finley (9-6) will probably never match Ryan's four no-hitters in an Angels uniform, and topping Ryan's franchise-record 2,416 strikeouts is a dream. But Finley has matched the future Hall of Famer with his 138th career victory.

``I've been here 12 years now,'' he said. ``Obviously, if you keep taking your turn in the rotation, you're going to start passing some people who put up some pretty good numbers.''

Ryan had a 138-121 record for California from 1972-79 before finishing his career with a 324-292 mark. He also totaled a major-league record 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters in a 27-year career with four teams.

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Photo

Photo: The Red Sox's Jeff Frye leaps over sliding Angels base runner Garret Anderson at Boston's Fenway Park.

Associated Press