ANGELS, WASHBURN BURNED BY WHITE SOX DURHAM SETS THE TONE EARLY FOR CHICAGO CHICAGO 15, ANGELS 1.

Byline: Gordon Verrell Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The much-anticipated pitching duel between left-handers Jarrod Washburn of the Angels and Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox, both of them among the American League ERA leaders, lasted all of one pitch Wednesday night at Edison Field.

Chicago's Ray Durham cranked Washburn's first delivery of the evening into the left-field corner for a double and the White Sox took it from there, burying the Angels 15-1 - and burying Washburn - amid a 19-hit barrage before a crowd of 18,864.

It was the Angels' most lopsided loss all season and also the most runs they've allowed, their mini winning streak ending with a thud at three games. The lone wisp of positive news: They didn't lose ground in the AL wild-card chase, staying 5 1/2 games back of Boston.

``This is a game we just have to turn the page on,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``We didn't do much right on the mound.''

The White Sox, climbing back to .500, battered five Angels pitchers for eight extra-base hits, including two home runs by Magglio Ordonez and one each by Sandy Alomar and Aaron Rowland, the former Cal State Fullerton standout.

Alomar's homer in the third finished Washburn, and Alomar, too, as it turned out. He barely made it around the bases when his right knee locked on him.

Washburn was knocked out after only three innings, his briefest start in two years, and the shortest by an Angels starter in more than a month, since Scott Schoeneweis got the hook after only 2 2/3 innings in a 9-5 loss to Seattle on June 29.

Buehrle certainly held up his end of the matchup, going the distance for his third complete game and second in a row, this one a four-hitter.

``The way the offense exploded, just going out and throwing strikes was the biggest thing,'' Buehrle said. ``All I needed to do was throw strikes. The rest took care of itself.''

Buehlre is the AL's leader in ERA at 3.02.

One reason: Boston's Pedro Martinez, who's at 2.26, hasn't enough innings yet to qualify.

Another: Buehlre has pitched his way into the No. 1 spot.

Buehrle (10-6) threw a one-hitter Friday in his previous start, beating Tampa Bay 4-0, and has allowed just one run his past 24 1/3 innings. He's 9-3 in his past 14 starts, allowing only 22 earned runs in that span, a 1.89 ERA.

He gave up a run on two hits in the first inning, Garret Anderson's RBI was his 43rd in the past 41 games, and then only two more hits. Buehrle finished on a roll, retiring the last 13 Angels in order.

Washburn (9-6) has dropped two in a row following his career-best winning streak of eight games that stretched from early May until late July. The last time out, Friday night in New York, he lost a tough one 4-2.

He came into Wednesday night's start with a 3.44 ERA, ninth-best in the AL. By the time he left - after getting rocked for six runs in only three innings - his ERA had jumped to 3.76.

It was clear from the outset this was not the Washburn who had performed so well for nearly three months, earning the distinction as the Angels' ace.

He was socked for two runs on two doubles, a single and a walk in the first inning. He got through the second OK, giving up just a single. But he was hammered for four runs, three on Alomar's fourth home run, in the third inning and left trailing 6-1.