ANGELS CAN'T CONNECT RANGERS TAKE SERIES 2-1 AS; KAPLER HOMERS TEXAS 4, ANGELS 3.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas - If there ever was an opportunity for the Angels to get their sluggish offense going, the three-game series against the Texas Rangers was it. The Rangers have the worst team ERA in the majors and give up an average of 6.1 runs per game.

But not even the Rangers pitching staff could jump-start the Angels, as Texas won two of three in the series, including Thursday night's 4-3 win before 30,337.

The Rangers have one of the most imposing offenses in the league and they flexed their muscles with four home runs - two by Ruben Sierra and one each by Gabe Kapler and Alex Rodriguez.

All four were solo homers and came off Angels starter Matt Wise. Wise (1-1) allowed only five hits total in his six innings and struck out nine, a career high.

However, it came down to offense for the Angels, a recurring theme all season as they continue to hover around .500. They scored just 12 runs in the series.

``We've just got to keep grinding,'' said center fielder Darin Erstad, who lined out to first with the potential tying run on third to end the game. ``Those (hard-hit balls that are caught) are things you can't control. Just make sure you make a good pass at the ball. If it falls, it falls. If it doesn't, it doesn't. We had quite a few that didn't.''

Another one that didn't came off the bat of David Eckstein, who hit a sharp one-hopper to the right of Rodriguez at shortstop with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. But Rodriguez backhanded the ball and threw out Eckstein to end the threat.

``I thought we hit the ball hard in this series,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``Tonight, many of them were caught. That's part of baseball. Obviously the bottom line is production, and that's not happening. We'll keep plowing foward until it does.''

The Angels' only two runs of the game scored in the fifth inning when Benji Gil (double), Eckstein (single) and Erstad (double) combined for three hits off Rangers starter Rick Helling (5-7).

Overall, the Angels were 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position. And the 3-4-5 spots in the order - Troy Glaus, Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon - were a combined 0 for 11.

But the game was close because Wise kept it close. Starting for the injured Ismael Valdes, Wise stuck to his game - throwing strikes. At Triple-A Salt Lake, he struck out 57 and walked only four.

He threw strikes Thursday, maybe too many strikes.

``Apparently so,'' Wise said when asked if he threw too many strikes. ``There's a difference between throwing regular strikes and quality strikes.''

Sierra hit his first homer leading off the fifth and Kapler, who attended Taft High of Woodland Hills and Moorpark College, followed with his homer to tie the game at 2. In the sixth, Wise struck out the side, but also allowed the homers to Rodriguez and Sierra again.

``If I'm going to give 'em up, they might as we be solo,'' Wise said. ``I just wanted to keep it close and keep the team in the game. After the third (homer), it might have made me a little mad.''

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Photo:

Ruben Sierra (24) is greeted by teammate Gabe Kapler (19) after hitting home run Thursday night.

Linda Kaye/Associated Press