ANGELS' LOSS GETS SCARY MARINERS' SORIANO HIT IN HEAD BY GUERRERO LINE DRIVE SEATTLE 6, ANGELS 4.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

SEATTLE - Every pitcher's greatest fear became a reality for the Seattle Mariners' Rafael Soriano, who was hit on the right side of his head by a Vladimir Guerrero comebacker.

The freak incident in the eighth inning cast a pall upon the remainder of the game as the Angels went down 6-4 for their third consecutive defeat.

Soriano barely had time to react to Guerrero's blistering smash up the middle. He had just enough time to turn his face away from the oncoming liner and tried to get his shoulder up to protect himself but could not.

The ball hit him just behind the right ear but he never lost consciousness.

The 26-year-old native of the Dominican Republic fell to the ground clutching his head. Play was stopped for about 10 minutes until Soriano was placed on a stretcher and taken off the field on a utility cart.

He was taken through a gate in the wall in right-center where an ambulance was waiting.

After first letting out a groan, the crowd of 29,059 was in silence for most of the time Soriano was being tended to. Guerrero looked stunned while standing at first base and later went into the dugout to wait out the delay where he too sat in silence.

When he returned to the field, Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson gave Guerrero and first-base coach Alfredo Griffin an update on the situation.

Before Soriano was drilled in the head, the Angels were having a miserable night on the field. They committed three errors and Jered Weaver was touched for four home runs in the worst start of his young career.

The defeat, combined with another Oakland Athletics victory, left the Angels 7 1/2 games out of first place with 29 games remaining.

``We fell one further back but still we've had a recent history of playing well in September so you have to feel good about that,'' general manager Bill Stoneman said before the game. ``You still have to play them one at a time. You can't worry about yesterday. You have to go out and focus on tonight's game.

``If you can keep your focus short term -- keep your focus on the game you can really control, which is the one you're playing today - some good things can happen.''

Weaver gave up five runs on nine hits (both career highs) in 4 2/3 innings, the shortest outing in his 14 starts.

The right-hander seemed to be affected by an injury to his right thumb.

Weaver continued to wipe blood from the thumb onto the back pocket of his pants but remained in the game even after a visit to the mound from the medical staff.

Unlike Monday when the Angels had a runner thrown out at the plate in the first inning, they had some luck in pushing a run across in the opening inning Tuesday.

Orlando Cabrera ran through a Dino Ebel stop sign at third base after a Guerrero single. The throw from Mariners right-fielder Chris Snelling arrived well ahead of Cabrera, but Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima inexplicably dropped the ball as he hurried to make the tag.

The 1-0 lead was short lived, though, as the first two Mariners batters against Weaver hit home runs.

Ichiro Suzuki hit a home run to right field and Snelling hit one to left.

Weaver gave up the two home runs over his first five pitches after allowing a combined one run over the previous 14 innings he had pitched against the Mariners. He nearly allowed three consecutive homers to open the game as Adrian Beltre hit a double off the left-field wall.

After winning the first nine decisions of his career, Weaver (9-2) now has lost two consecutive starts for his first losing streak.

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Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver allowed four home runs in 4 2/3 innings against Seattle on Tuesday.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

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ANGELS at SEATTLE

- Doug Padilla