ANGELS APE THEIR WAY TO WIN APPIER'S `BEST OUTING' EASES ELBOW CONCERNS ANGELS 6, TAMPA BAY 1.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - It was late Saturday afternoon, and Angels pitcher Kevin Appier was doing his best imitation of teammate John Lackey. It was more goofy than anything, but that's Appier.

``He's just preparing for his start (Sunday),'' fellow pitcher Aaron Sele said.

Whatever works.

Appier has battled an elbow injury and inconsistency this season, but the Antelope Valley product pitched his best game of the season Sunday in the Angels' 6-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in front of 34,777 at Edison Field.

With the victory, the Angels went 3-3 on the homestand and left town right where they started - at .500 (24-24).

The flight to Baltimore on Sunday evening had to be a good one for Appier, who allowed one run and four hits in six innings, improving to 3-2. The only run he allowed came on Ben Grieve's two-out homer in the sixth.

``His velocity was a little better, his breaking ball was crisper, he changed speeds well and he pitched ahead in the count,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

It was especially important for Appier because he had been knocked out of his previous start after only 3 1/3 innings, and the Angels were concerned the strained flexor tendon in his right elbow - which put him on the disabled list in late April and early this month - might be an issue.

``We talked all week with Ape to make sure there were no lingering effects with the elbow,'' Scioscia said. ``He answered that on the mound. It was his best outing he's had all season.''

Appier insists his elbow is fine but admitted he needs to improve the velocity on his fastball.

``I took a step toward getting my full velocity back,'' he said. ``I'm pretty close, I need a couple miles per hour more, at most. You're always up and down with your fastball. And even though it was hard (compared with other starts) this season, I have room to go.''

The Angels offense had only seven hits, but they made the most of them. Troy Glaus remained the hottest hitter on the club, going 2 for 3 with a double, a stolen base and two runs scored. David Eckstein also had two hits.

The biggest play of the game, though, came on the basepaths. With the Angels up 2-0 in the fifth inning, they had Jeff DaVanon on third and Glaus on first with one out and Tim Salmon batting.

Glaus broke for second on the pitch to Salmon, who struck out swinging for the second out. When catcher Toby Hall threw to second, DaVanon broke for home. Glaus stopped halfway between first and second, and second baseman Marlon Anderson threw home.

It was a close play, but DaVanon's hard slide knocked Hall's foot away from the plate. DaVanon was credited with a steal of home that gave the Angels a 3-0 lead.

``I just listened to Rags (third base coach Ron Roenicke),'' DaVanon said. ``In that situation, if Tim strikes out, you know they want to throw to second and get the double play. So I was cheating a little bit down the line and just listened to Ron.''

``It's a calculated risk,'' Scioscia said of calling for the delayed double steal. ``You're trying to get guys in motion to stay out of the double play.''

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Photo:

Garret Anderson, left, scores on a wild pitch by Tampa Bay pitcher Dewon Brazelton in the Angels' five-run fifth inning.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press