ANGELS FIREPOWER TAKES DOWN SAN DIEGO.

Byline: Marc J. Spears Daily News Staff Writer

The magical atmosphere at Anaheim Stadium on Thursday night mimicked a normal day at nearby Disneyland.

The exciting aroma teased the fans once they crossed the gate and were handed commemorative tickets.

Pregame ceremonies and a special video on the Jumbotron all led to what the curious came to see:

The Angels and the San Diego Padres on the same playing field for the first time in interleague action's opening night.

The Angels added to the hysteria with the offensive fireworks during an 8-4 victory over the Padres in front of 22,164.

The Angels garnered 16 hits and three home runs during the triumph. They broke a 4-4 tie going into the bottom of the seventh by scoring four runs in their last two at-bats. Dave Hollins, Tony Phillips and Darin Erstad added to the offensive outburst by hitting solo homers.

Lost in all the hype was Angels starter Matt Perisho, a struggling rookie right-hander who was brought up from Double-A Midland on May 23 to replace injured veteran Mark Langston and to help keep the Angels rotation intact.

``(Perisho) probably doesn't need this,'' said Angels manager Terry Collins before the game. ``He has so much on his mind already and now he has to throw the first interleague game.''

In his first three starts, Perisho allowed 15 runs in 12-1/3 innings and entered Thursday's contest with a 5.40 ERA.

The left-hander, however, earned his best performance as an Angel by striking out five and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks in 6-1/3 innings.

Angels reliever Mike James (3-2) earned the win after pitching 1-1/3 innings of no-run baseball.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Angels scored the first run of the game but left three men on base. With the bases loaded, Luis Alicea hit a one-out single off San Diego rookie starter Heath Murray to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead.

After two innings of no-run baseball, Perisho ran out of luck during an odd batting sequence by the Padres in the third. John Flaherty and Rickey Henderson opened the inning with back-to-back homers off Perisho. Entering the game, the duo combined for just four homers in 276 at-bats.

Seven-time National League batting champ Tony Gwynn followed but struck out swinging.

After entering the bottom of the fourth down 3-1, the Angels scored three runs during the next three innings to retake the lead.

In the fourth, the Angels' designated hitter Phillips hit a single, scoring Alicea. Hollins followed with a homer in the fifth while Phillips tagged one in the sixth to put the Angels ahead 4-3. Hollins has hit eight of his nine homers in Anaheim and Phillips' blast was his first since he rejoined the Angels.

In the seventh, the Padres knotted the game back up at 4-4. After a Tony Gwynn single, Hollins threw wildly to first base and John Flaherty scored from second on the play.

With the game tied 4-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Angels scored two runs on three hits to seal the game. Jim Edmonds' RBI single and Gary DiSarcina's RBI popup combined to give Anaheim the edge.

The Angels scored two more runs in the eighth on a homer by Erstad and Garret Anderson RBI single.

Notes: Angels catcher Jim Leyritz took Thursday off and is day-to-day after suffering a bruised sternum at Kansas City Wednesday. . . . Angels pitcher Mark Gubicza, who had shoulder surgery on June 3, had his stitches taken out Thursday night. The right-hander, who has missed 53 games, is optimistic that he can return by August. . . . Angels pitcher Mark Langston played catch Monday and Wednesday for 12 minutes at a distance of 120 feet.