McGwire’s Homer Didn’t Floor Flener

Toronto Blue Jay pitcher Huck Flener, a former Cal State Fullerton standout who will start against the Angels today, had a good view of the longest home run in Skydome history--he was on the mound.

“When he hit it, I just said, ‘Wow.’ That one wasn’t coming down,” Flener said of Oakland slugger Mark McGwire’s July 25 blast, which reached the fifth deck and was estimated at 488 feet.

“Did I watch it? Oh, yeah. I’ve never seen a ball hit that far, and I don’t think I ever will again. I just thanked God no one was on base.”

Flener’s pride may have been bruised that day but the left-hander’s record wasn’t. The Blue Jays came back and won, 4-3, and Flener, who played on Fullerton’s 1988 and ’90 College World Series teams, got a no-decision.

In his next start at Cleveland on Tuesday, Flener, who relies mostly on a slider and changeup, gave up just one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings in a 3-1 victory.

Flener, who missed most of the 1994 season after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery, is 1-0 with a 2.39 earned-run average in four starts since being recalled from triple-A Syracuse on July 12. It’s his second major league stint since being drafted in 1990.

“I’m not sure if anyone ever feels you’re here to stay,” said Flener, who appeared in six games for the Blue Jays in 1993. “I know better than to expect much in the future. But if I continue to throw consistently, I have a good chance of staying.”

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Left fielder Garret Anderson said his four-hit performance Saturday had nothing to do with Friday demotion of outfielder Darin Erstad, who was cutting into Anderson’s playing time. “It might be a coincidence; maybe it was just my turn to hit the ball hard,” Anderson said. “I never felt threatened by Darin. The only thing I wanted to do was play every day.”