A'S HAVE ANGELS' NUMBER : OAKLAND 6, ANGELS 2.

Byline: Associated Press 

Manager Terry Collins needs to see some spark from his Angels - and soon.

``We're starting to reach a stage where I'm not going to panic and I'll continue to be as patient as I can, but we have to realize we're in a heated, heated pennant race,'' Collins said after the Angels lost to Oakland 6-2 Tuesday afternoon. ``We've hit a lull, we've hit a bad spot, nothing is going our way. You can't make mistakes and set up big innings.''

It was Oakland's fifth straight win over the Angels, who have lost 10 of their past 12 but kept a half-game lead over Texas in the AL West. The Rangers fell to the Seattle Mariners 6-3 Tuesday night.

The Angels committed three errors, leading to three unearned runs, to help the upstart A's move within seven games of the Angels in the AL West.

The Angels' Omar Olivares (5-6) allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in three innings while making his shortest start of the season. He has allowed 20 earned runs over 18-2/3 innings while losing four straight starts.

``I'm just not throwing the ball to the right spots,'' Olivares said. ``The ball is staying flat, giving hitters a chance to hit it. I'm struggling right now.''

Oakland's Kenny Rogers wasn't struggling, throwing six shutout innings. Though he left with hamstring soreness, he said he's fine and shouldn't miss a start.

Rogers (9-3), who won only six games all last year with the New York Yankees, allowed four hits and walked three before leaving with soreness in his left hamstring.

``Just getting old. It's nothing to worry about, it's just a little tweak in my hamstring,'' Rogers said. ``It won't affect my next start.''

Rogers was visited on the mound during the sixth inning by assistant trainer Steve Sayles and manager Art Howe, who noticed Rogers reaching for his leg during the inning. Rogers told Howe he wanted to finish out the inning. He did that, leaving runners on second and third, but did not return.

``I felt he was almost limping coming off the field, so it was best to get him out of there,'' Howe said.

Rogers gave the A's 30 wins by starting pitchers this year, one more than the entire 1997 season. He is 6-0 with a 2.19 ERA at the Oakland Coliseum this season and has a 10-3 career mark at the ballpark.

The A's scored three runs in the first on RBI singles by Matt Stairs and Jason Giambi and a sacrifice fly by Miguel Tejada. They added two in the second on a wild pitch by Olivares and another RBI single by Stairs.

Oakland, which has won three straight, scored another run on a throwing error by third baseman Dave Hollins in the sixth.

The Angels scored two in the eighth on Cecil Fielder's sacrifice fly and Garret Anderson's RBI double.

Notes: The Angels open a five-game home stand tonight against Tampa Bay. They meet the Devil Rays twice before hosting the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend. . . . Before getting swept by the A's in Anaheim on July 3-5 and losing both games this week, the Angels had won 14 of 15 against Oakland.