ANGELS BLOWN AWAY BY TEXAS STORM AGAIN TEXAS 12, ANGELS 6.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas - This time, John Lackey was handed a fresh start.

Sure, he stuck the Angels in a four-run hole after just one inning Saturday night, but his teammates got him off the hook. A stirring six-run rally in the fourth inning, keyed by a three-run triple from catcher Jose Molina, of all people, gave Lackey a two-run lead and wiped the slate clean.

It took Lackey all of three batters to give it back.

In his first start of the season, Lackey could not complete four innings, as the Texas Rangers tattooed him for nine hits and seven runs in a 12-6 victory in front of 30,331 at The Ballpark.

Lackey's 3 2/3-inning outing, on the heels of Ramon Ortiz's 2 2/3-inning flameout a day before, exposed the Angels' biggest vulnerability entering this season - the strength of their fourth and fifth starters.

Now, after a stirring three-game sweep at Seattle was followed by two grim shellackings totaling 24 runs allowed here, the Angels are 3-2, just like the Rangers, who were unanimous picks to finish last in the American League West.

The long haul figures to provide some separation between the two clubs, but if the Angels' grander dreams of a pennant drive are to materialize, they will need to make sure the Nos. 4-5 holes in their rotation don't resemble sinkholes.

Especially on nights their lineup, down 4-0 and held off the bases for three innings by Kenny Rogers, rises up to take a 6-4 lead. Given that gift, Lackey promptly gave up a two-run home run to Michael Young, a double to Hank Blalock and then an RBI single to Brad Fullmer.

The Rangers led 7-6 and Lackey, the native Texan pitching in front of a gaggle of family members and friends, was done.

``That's the most disappointing thing about it. The guys gave me a second chance and I ended up giving the lead right back to them,'' said Lackey, who is coming off a 10-16 season filled with similar lowlights. ``I like coming back here and seeing family and friends. It makes it that much more disappointing when you don't do well.''

The frustration was shared throughout the clubhouse. Rogers didn't look long for the game after the Angels peppered him for six hits in the fourth, but he regained the impeccable control upon which he relies.

The Angels also believe he stretched the strike zone to his advantage. Both Troy Glaus and Garret Anderson expressed frustration with called third strikes, which isn't rare for Glaus but highly rare for Anderson, whose exchange with homeplate umpire Joe West lured manager Mike Scioscia out of the dugout to make sure he didn't get too chatty.

``Kenny knows where he's going to make his living, and he's going to put the ball as far out as the ump will give him,'' Scioscia said. ``He got a little bit of the inside corner tonight.''

But a few marginal calls weren't the problem for the Angels; Lackey was. Four of the first five Rangers batters reached base in the first inning, capped by Mark Teixeira's line drive three-run homer to dead center field for a 4-0 lead.

Lackey tipped his cap to Teixeira on that one, because he thought the middle-low location of his curveball wasn't awful. The fastball to Young in the fourth was another matter.

That it came after the Angels seemed to seize control of the game only made the two-run shot to center sting even more.

``There was a momentum shift,'' pitching coach Bud Black said. ``After a year-and-a-half in the big leagues, this was another lesson that he'll remember and be better for.''

The Angels are banking on it.

``We put up the six-spot; he couldn't get it done. It could have been a big swing for us,'' Scioscia said. ``But no starter's going to go out and have a clean 33 starts. It's a bad start for Ramon, a bad start for John. They've got to turn the page and move on.''

After the Angels yielded 36 hits in two games here, there's a glimmer of hope today. Bartolo Colon gets the Easter Sunday start and the Angels only can hope he'll stop the hit parade.

They just didn't plan on their new ace being thrust in the role of stopper so early.

``We don't expect Bart to say, get on my shoulders and go,'' Scioscia said. ``We're not putting our eggs in one basket. We need five guys. Our confidence hasn't waned because of a couple of rough starts.''

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Texas starter Kenny Rogers was able to regain control after the Angels knocked him around in a six-run fourth Saturday.

Linda Kaye/Associated Press

Box:

GAME RECAP