ANGELS AT HOME ON HOMER ISLAND MOLINA THRILLS FAMILY, LEADS BARRAGE ANGELS 15, MONTREAL 4.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - In the stands, vendors hawked pina coladas next to Pizza Hut. Fans banged together inflatable noisemakers in a more rhythmic fashion than in Orange County, and a brass band tooted and boogied through the crowd.

And on the field, the ball flew out of the yard with alarming ease, fueled by a humid night and aided by the tightest dimensions in the major leagues.

The Angels got a taste of baseball island-style Tuesday night, walloping the Montreal Expos 15-4 in front of 10,034 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Though the Expos have expressed mixed feelings about their 22-game forced occupation of San Juan, the Angels might feel differently by the time their three-game series is over.

They might never want to leave.

Three of their first five batters hit home runs, and the Angels banged out 22 hits and tied a franchise record with six home runs in cruising to the victory.

Jeff DaVanon had his second consecutive two-homer game, homering from both sides of the plate for the first time. But it was the Angels' Puerto Rican native that provided the emotional punch.

Bengie Molina, who along with brother Jose played in front of his father and countless relatives for the first time, tied a career high with four hits and hit the most towering shot of the night, a three-run homer deep into the left-field bleachers.

It capped a night he both relished and dreaded; he was thrilled to play for friends and family but terrified to fail in front of them.

By game's end, as he rounded the bases after his shot off Dan Smith, thoughts of his maternal grandparents filled his head. His grandfather passed away on Christmas Day, his grandmother 18 months before.

As he entered the Angels' dugout, Molina smiled and waved toward the grandstand, where family and friends pounded specially made red noisemakers, one wearing an Angels jersey with the words ``Los Hermanos Molina'' stitched to the back.

``I couldn't sleep last night,'' said Molina, who pushed his average to .282, its highest since April 4. ``I was thinking about the game, the atmosphere, everything. But when I hit that home run, the first thing I was thinking was my grandma and grandpa, because they always said, `Believe it, and it can happen.' They always had faith in me. They never got to see me play.''

Neither had almost his entire family and friends. But they picked a good night to get their first glimpse of Molina and the Angels.

A pregame shower pounded the artificial turf but relented about an hour before game time. The electricity in the air, however, never left, even through the playing of three national anthems.

And with the fence just 315 feet away in left field, 313 in right and about 360 to the gaps, it wasn't the night to be a pitcher.

``Troy Glaus, Garret Anderson hit a fly ball here,'' Angels starter Ramon Ortiz said, ``and it's adios, pelota.''

They waved goodbye to seven balls in all, but fortunately for the Angels, only one left the right hand of Ortiz (5-5), who led the majors in home runs allowed last season. By the time Brad Wilkerson hit a two-run shot off Ortiz in the sixth, the Angels already had 10 runs on the board.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

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Photo:

Tim Salmon (15) rounds third base after hitting one of the Angels' six home runs Tuesday against the Montreal Expos in San Juan.

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press