ANGELS DON'T WASTE TIME ANAHEIM SCORES FIVE EARLY OFF PEREZ ANGELS 5, DODGERS 1.

Byline: Frank Welch  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Odalis Perez has pitched two one-hitters this season. So when Perez pitched five no-hit innings Sunday against the Angels, it wasn't much of a surprise.

The catch, however, is that Perez, the Dodgers' All-Star left-hander, held Anaheim hitless from the third through seventh innings.

As they did a night earlier against another left-hander, Kazuhisa Ishii, the Angels pounced on Perez for five runs in the first two innings en route to a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in the interleague season finale.

A sellout of 43,059 at Edison Field saw Benji Gil give the Angels a five-run lead with his three-run home run to center field with none out in the second inning.

After giving up a single to Jose Nieves following Gil's first homer of the season, Perez (9-4) walked only Troy Glaus in the third inning and Tim Salmon in the fifth. Perez retired 18 of the final 20 hitters he faced.

``It wasn't the kind of start to a game that we've become accustomed to from Odalis Perez,'' Dodgers manager Jim Tracy said.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia, meanwhile, would love to get used to the kind of start he received Sunday from 6-foot-6 rookie right-hander John Lackey.

The 23-year-old Lackey shut out the Dodgers through five innings in gaining his first major-league victory in his second start. Lackey gave up one run and five hits over six innings and helped the Angels clinch the three-game series.

``I made enough good pitches when I needed them to help get me out of some jams,'' Lackey said. ``What was really special to me is that (reliever) Ben Weber gave me the game ball and it was his first major-league save. That means a lot to me.''

Weber needed only 32 pitches over the final three innings to retire the Dodgers in order to earn the save.

Before being shut down by Lackey and Weber, Los Angeles had won its previous nine series, including taking two out of three from the Angels two weeks ago at Dodger Stadium. The teams are 16-16 all-time in their interleague rivalry.

``We were able to jump on a very good pitcher early in the game,'' Scioscia said after his second-place team gained a game on the Seattle Mariners in the American League West to trail by 3 1/2 games.

``Odalis Perez is not going to give you a lot of pitches to hit, so you want to take advantage of him early, if you get anything to hit.''

Perez gave up hits to seven of the first nine batters he faced. Garret Anderson's first-inning groundout brought home the first run and Glaus' run-scoring single made it 2-0.

Gil, who hadn't hit a home run since last July, saw the count go to 3-and-0 with two runners on in the second.

``I looked down there (to third-base coach Ron Roenicke) and I was hoping that'd give me the green light,'' Gil said. ``I was expecting Perez to throw a strike, instead of a changeup to risk walking me and loading the bases.''

Gil pounced on a low fastball to pick up both Scott Spiezio and Bengie Molina, who each singled in front of Gil.

``You have to take advantage of a pitch you can hit,'' Scioscia said. ``We'll do that a lot, green light hitters in those situations.''

The Dodgers settled for two doubles from Paul Lo Duca, a single and double from Brian Jordan and a single from Dave Roberts.

However, the Dodgers' impressions of Lackey appeared mixed.

``(Lackey) wasn't that tough,'' Dodger outfielder Marquis Grissom said after going 0 for 3. ``We just didn't get the hits. We weren't overmatched. He threw strikes, but I don't think we were ready to hit.''

Added Tracy: ``That young starter did a fantastic job, as did Ben Weber. Our reports on (Lackey) were very impressive and he showed why they were such.''

DODGERS vs. ARIZONA

Time: 7:05 p.m., Bank One Ballpark.

TV/Radio: FSN2; 1150-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish).

Matchup: Dodgers RH Hideo Nomo (8-5, 3.55 ERA) is 6-0 in his past eight starts with a 3.20 ERA. He has a career-best victory streak of seven games in 1995, his first stint with the Dodgers. He's 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA against the Diamondbacks. Arizona LH Randy Johnson (12-2, 2.38) will make his ninth appearance in the All-Star Game next week. Johnson has thrown two complete games this season and has 155 strikeouts, for an average of nine per game.

- Jill Painter

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Angels Bengie Molina, left, and Scott Spiezio, right, welcome teammate Benji Gil after his three-run home run Sunday at Edison Field lifted the Angels over the Dodgers.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

DODGERS vs. ANGELS (see text)