A'S IN 11TH HEAVEN KIELTY'S HR BEATS ANGELS, SPOILING COLON'S 9 1/3-INNING PERFORMANCE OAKLAND 2, ANGELS 1.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - There were men in suits talking into their sleeves and a noticeable security presence at Angel Stadium on Tuesday night, but it had nothing to do with the disappearance of the Angels' recent loss of the American League West lead.

Instead, it was for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who watched the game between the Angels and Oakland A's as the guest of Angels owner Arte Moreno. With the northern and southern parts of the states represented, it might have been in Schwarzenegger's best political interests to root for a tie.

Considering their recent state of affairs, the Angels, too, might have wished for a tie, especially after Bobby Kielty's leadoff home run in the top of the 11th inning off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez lifted the A's to a 2-1 victory in front of 42,176 at Angel Stadium.

Huston Street pitched the bottom of the 11th for his 18th save, but it didn't come easy. He walked Chone Figgins and Garret Anderson, setting up a showdown with reigning AL MVP Vladimir Guerrero, who was 0 for 4 heading into his final at-bat.

Street won the battle, breaking Guerrero's bat on a grounder to second base to end it, and the A's had their seventh win in a row.

The loss was the Angels' fifth in a row, their longest losing streak of the season. They fell two games behind the A's in the West, after never having been more than one game out of the top spot all season.

The Angels also fell into third place in the wild-card race. They are still one game behind the Yankees, who lost Tuesday, but now also trail the Cleveland Indians by a half-game.

The Angels say they aren't frustrated, but Rodriguez threw his cap in the trash can after the game, and Guerrero, after an 0-for-5 night, refused comment.

``We need to play better,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``We're a better team than this. There's a lot of baseball left, but we need to play better. That's the bottom line.''

For nine innings, Angels starting pitcher Bartolo Colon and A's starter Barry Zito were masterful, taking their teams into extra innings with the score tied at 1.

Colon has done his part - and more. He became the first Angels pitcher since Mark Langston on Sept. 27, 1992, to pitch into the 10th inning. Colon had made only 92 pitches through nine, but leading off the 10th, Dan Johnson had an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with a double, the ball scooting past Anderson in left field.

After a sacrifice bunt by Scott Hatteberg moved pinch-runner Freddie Bynum to third, Colon's night was finished. In came Rodriguez, who got Jay Payton to hit a popfly near the photographers' well next to the A's dugout.

Angels first baseman Darin Erstad had a long way to go, considering the infield was playing in, but made the catch as he slammed into the railing, then threw home to prevent the speedy Bynum from scoring.

Rodriguez got out of the inning with a strikeout of Nick Swisher, followed by his trademark scream normally reserved for finishing off a victory.

The Angels had a chance to win it in the bottom of the 10th after Erstad's one-out infield single. With two outs, Erstad stole second and took third on catcher Jason Kendall's throwing error. Robb Quinlan, who homered off Zito in the eighth inning to tie the score, struck out.

Although Colon received a no-decision, he continued his remarkable stretch. He hasn't lost a game since July 16, a string of eight starts. On Tuesday, he gave up one run and six hits in 9 1/3 innings.

Zito, the Pierce College and USC product, was just as good, going nine innings and allowing one run and three hits, his only blemish coming in the eighth when Quinlan turned on a pitch and hit it just inside the left-field foul pole to tie the score at 1.

Joe Haakenson, [phone]

joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Bartolo Colon went 9 1/3 innings but ended up with a no-decision as the Angels lost to Oakland in extra innings.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

(2) Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy tags out Oakland's Jason Kendall at second base in the first inning of Tuesday's game.

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Box:

(1) ANGELS vs. OAKLAND

- Joe Haakenson

(2) GAME RECAP

(3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(4) ALMANAC 

(5) AL WEST

(6) AL WILD CARD