ANGELS FINALLY SOLVE MARINERS SALMON'S FIVE HITS, FIVE RBI HELP CHASE GARCIA IN 12-RUN WIN ANGELS 15, SEATTLE 3.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- They called it Paint the Town Red Night on Friday at Edison Field. What it really seemed like was a visit to an alternate universe.

What were 43,407 fans doing jamming Edison Field, drawn only by a noisemaker giveaway, the usual Friday fireworks show and the apparently irresistible lure of a pennant race?

Was that really Seattle Mariners ace Freddy Garcia - or, as Angel fans know him, Freddy Krueger - getting knocked around the yard like a batting practice pitcher?

And were those really the Angels actually winning a game at home against the first-place Mariners?

On a night when the atypical ruled, the Angels snapped a home losing streak to Seattle at 12 games, chasing Garcia after 4 2/3 innings in a 15-3 thrashing that pulled them within three games of the Mariners.

The Angels pounded out 20 hits against the team with the second-best earned-run average in the American League. Tim Salmon led the charge with five hits in as many at bats, equaling a career high, and he drove in five runs.

Adding to the weirdness, Angel starter Ramon Ortiz (9-7) actually kept the Mariners in the ballpark. Ortiz, who has given up the most home runs in the league, allowed seven hits and struck out eight in seven innings. It was just the second start in his last 15 that Ortiz did not give up a long ball.

Such developments were not insignificant. The Angels have struggled mightily against Seattle, losing 21 of their last 27 coming in. A four-game sweep by Seattle in April seemed to set a similar tone to what happened in 2001, when the Mariners posted the second-most wins in baseball history and the Angels were out of it before Labor Day.

Of course, the Angels have crawled back into contention, but none of their recent good fortune came against the Mariners. And since Friday's game was the first of 12 remaining against Seattle, it was imperative they find a way to solve Garcia, who came in with a career 6-1 record and 1.84 ERA against Anaheim.

The Angels needed just one inning to figure it out.

With one out, four consecutive Angels reached base, with runs coming home on a single by Salmon and a fielder's choice by Brad Fullmer. A larger opportunity was lost when Adam Kennedy struck out with the bases loaded, but the damage was done.

The Angels had handed a quick 2-0 lead to Ortiz. More significantly, Garcia needed 31 pitches to escape the first inning.

Garcia (11-6) never did retire the side in order. Every Angel hitter reached base against him, and he yielded 11 hits and three walks.

By the fourth inning, he looked downright mortal.

No. 9 hitter Jose Molina and Eckstein set the table, Molina slapping a single to right and Eckstein laying down a bunt that hugged the first base line. He forced Garcia into a bad throw and was credited with a bunt single.

After a walk and a sacrifice fly by Salmon, Anderson cracked a double off the wall in right center field, driving in two runs for a 4-1 lead.

Eckstein added an RBI single in the fifth, and just for kicks, the Angels touched former teammate Allen Watson for eight more in the sixth. Two runs came home on Eckstein's bases-loaded double, his 18th and 19th RBIs this season with the bases loaded. The capper was Salmon's three-run shot to left field.

All the while, the red-clad crowd pounded on their ``thunder sticks,'' creating a background din that seemed more World Cup than Fashion Island. Most of the time, the crowd didn't even need a prompt from the scoreboard operator to do so.

It was the Angels' first sellout that didn't fall on opening day, a holiday or a game against the Dodgers.

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Photo:

(color) Garret Anderson doubles in the first inning Friday in the Angels 15-3 victory over Seattle.

John Hayes/Associated Press