Angel Rookie Braves the Big Valle : Baseball: Curtis scores winning run in 7-5 victory over the Mariners, sparking brawl.

The shortest distance between two points being a straight line--even with 6-foot-2, 200-pound Mariner catcher Dave Valle at the end of it--Angel rookie Chad Curtis knew what he had to do.

Stymied for seven innings Sunday by Erik Hanson, the Angels had pulled even during the eighth on four singles, a triple and a walk. Curtis, running for Lance Parrish, was on second when pinch-hitter John Morris singled to left field for his first hit as an Angel; Curtis was determined to make it a winning hit, no matter that Valle presented a massive obstacle.

“He was blocking the baseline, so I made the decision I had to go through him because I couldn’t go around him,” Curtis said after the Angels’ 7-5 victory before 36,119 at Anaheim Stadium. “He just tagged me in case I missed home plate. He tagged me a little rough and said, ‘Don’t go after me.’ I said, ‘What am I supposed to do, lay down and let you tag me?’ ”

Curtis and his teammates took nothing lying down.

“The poor (fans) who left after the seventh inning--we ought to send them a free ticket,” Manager Buck Rodgers said after his team salvaged the final game of a three-game home stand and ended a three-game losing streak. “They missed a lot of fun.”

Parrish led the charge out of the dugout to defend Curtis after Valle applied an emphatic tag to Curtis’ chest well after home-plate umpire Rocky Roe had signaled him safe. Parrish, who had words with Henry Cotto during the second inning after Cotto objected to Parrish’s tag on a dropped third strike, was ejected, as was Valle. But to Parrish, making a statement was more important than being ejected.

“I don’t think (Curtis) did anything wrong. It’s just part of the game,” said Parrish, who had driven in the tying run with his third single of the game.

“I didn’t think there was any unnecessary contact. After the way Valle slammed his glove on (Curtis), I got mad. He’s the kind of guy who gets mad when people slide hard into him, but he trips more people than anybody. He cheap-shots people at home plate.

“I just think in that situation, people on this ballclub have to stick up for each other, especially a young guy like Chad Curtis, who didn’t do anything wrong.

“Dave Valle slamming that tag on him was wrong. I didn’t know if anybody else was going to do anything, but I was going to get my two cents in. If a ballclub doesn’t respect you, there’s no sense in going out on the field.”

Valle declined to give his point of view. “No comment from number 10,” said Valle, who had driven in the first run during a five-run fourth against starter Mark Langston, making his first start in two weeks after suffering a strained left hip.

Mariner Manager Bill Plummer said Valle “didn’t think (Curtis) hit the plate and he went back and hit him a little hard. There were a lot of emotions out there today.”

Chuck Finley, recently recovered from an injured left big toe, wrestled a Mariner on the ground without fear for his foot. He later had grass stains on his knees to prove he did more Sunday than chart pitches. “I don’t know who I was paired up with, dancing,” Finley said.

There were no injuries.

After the brawl, the Angels had enough energy left to score a seventh run, on a perfect squeeze bunt by Luis Polonia. Bryan Harvey ended the game and earned his fifth save in six opportunities by striking out Estancia High product Rich Amaral, whose first major league home run had given Seattle a 5-0 lead in the second.

“I love it. I wouldn’t want to go through it every night, but this club needed this,” Rodgers said.

During the eighth, Von Hayes singled to left field and took second on Hubie Brooks’ single to right against reliever Calvin Jones. Former Mariner Alvin Davis singled to left, scoring Hayes and putting Brooks in scoring position. Gary Gaetti followed with a two-run triple, his first hit this season with runners in scoring position.

Jeff Nelson (0-1) came in to face Parrish, who lined an 0-and-1 pitch to left and was replaced by Curtis. Gonzales walked, setting up Morris’ hit, his first in seven pinch-hit attempts and 10 Angel at-bats.

“We could easily have just quit, but we showed a lot of character coming back,” Morris said.

“I think it’s helping us develop a personality as a team, great competitors and guys who don’t quit.”

Angel Attendance

Sunday: 36,119

1991 (nine dates): 263,766

1992 (nine dates): 239,217

Decrease: 24,549

Average: 26,580