ANGELS IN FIRST AT LAST THEY SHUT OUT SEATTLE TO CLIMB ATOP AL WEST ANGELS 8, SEATTLE 0.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

SEATTLE - Three months and two days after they appeared to be out of the pennant race before it began, the Angels completed the long climb up from the cellar of the American League West to a place they haven't seen in more than two years.

First place.

It might last only as long as this afternoon, but for now the Angels are even with the Seattle Mariners atop the AL West after an 8-0 victory Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 45,559 at Safeco Field.

It was here, back on April 26, when the climb began with an innocent- looking 10-6 victory over these Mariners. When the Angels took the field that night they were 6-14, 10 1/2 games out of first place and had lost 21 of their past 26 games to the Mariners.

They wake up this morning with the following vital signs:

--A five-game winning streak over the Mariners.

--A two-game lead in the AL wild-card race.

--A 61-40 record after 101 games, the third-best mark at this juncture in team history.

What's more, the Angels find themselves atop the division for the first time since they were 16-14 on May 5, 2000. The last time they had a division lead of any significance was July 26, 1998, when they had a half-game lead on the Texas Rangers.

Rookie John Lackey, making just his sixth major-league start, pitched eight shutout innings, and the victory gave Seattle a co-habitant atop the division for the first time since April 11.

``It's nice to finally feel like we caught up,'' said outfielder Tim Salmon, whose fourth-inning home run broke open a scoreless game and jump-started a nine-hit onslaught against Seattle starter James Baldwin. ``But here's where the work starts. We gotta keep playing well.''

On Friday, the Angels played the sort of well-rounded game that suggests they might hold their spot for a while.

Lackey (2-1) rebounded from the worst outing of his brief career to easily outduel Baldwin (6-7). The Angels got two hits from Garret Anderson and a key two-run single and three RBI from Scott Spiezio.

Lackey, who walked five and was gone after 3 2/3 innings in his last start - also against Seattle - set the tone early. He struck out the AL's top hitter, Ichiro Suzuki, to start the game and did not allow a runner to reach second base through six innings. He gave up just six hits and one walk.

It was the first time Lackey started a second game against the same club. That he was better than the first time around suggests the Angels might have found a reliable No. 5 starter for down the stretch.

``You can't be scared,'' Lackey said. ``You gotta respect these guys. I just tried to forget last time. There's a little added pressure because the race is so close. It's pretty cool (pitching the Angels into first place), but it's something that's just a natural progression. Now that I'm here, I just want to hold up my end of the bargain.''

He got plenty of support behind him. Spiezio almost singlehandedly got Lackey through the fifth inning, making a nice lunge to his left to spear a line drive off the bat of Carlos Guillen to start the inning. One batter later, he made a tough backhanded stop of a ground ball and threw to Lackey covering to end the inning.

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Photo:

Tim Salmon's fourth-inning home run kicked off the scoring for the Angels, who are in first place for the first time since May 2000.

John Froschauer/Associated Press

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AL WEST STANDINGS