ANGELS NOTEBOOK: ECKSTEIN HAS EYES ON FIELD.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

BOSTON - Hitting a 94-mph fastball is never easy. Trying to do it while keeping one eye on the infield alignment adds to the difficulty.

In the Angels' 6-5 victory Friday night over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, David Eckstein was able to pull off such a dicey task, keying the game-winning rally in the eighth inning.

With Eric Owens on first base, the Angels originally had on a bunt play. But instead, they put on a ``slash'' play where Eckstein squares to bunt, only to pull the bat back and try to find a hole created when Owens takes off for second base.

In most hit-and-run plays, the batter tries to ground the ball in the area vacated by the second baseman. But because Eckstein squared to bunt, he anticipated shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, not second baseman Todd Walker, would cover second. As hard-throwing left-hander Alan Embree went into his delivery, Eckstein pulled the bat back while seeing Garciaparra head toward second.

So Eckstein pulled the ball into the area Garciaparra left, getting just enough wood on the ball to send it into shallow left field. That sent Owens to third, where he scored the eventual winning run on Adam Kennedy's fielder's choice.

``I hit that ball at about 13 percent,'' Eckstein said. ``It got in on me. I saw (Garciaparra) go toward the bag. That's the way the situation sets up, because (third baseman Shea) Hillenbrand was down my throat.''

Owens has struggled offensively in center fielder Darin Erstad's absence, taking a .187 average into Friday's game. But he loomed large in the victory, contributing two hits and his eighth stolen base.

He got the game-winning rally started with an infield single in which he dived across first base just ahead of Embree, who was covering on the play.

It was the sort of gritty maneuver the Angels expected when they signed Owens in the offseason.

``About time,'' Owens said. ``I've run into bad luck at times, but getting an infield single and doing things like that gets you back on track. I don't feel like I'm swinging the bat like a .200 hitter, and I won't be a .200 hitter.''

--Ortiz bounces back: Ramon Ortiz looked like he was headed for a third consecutive dreadful start when seven of the first 10 Red Sox reached base, enabling them to take a 4-0 lead. But after Jeremy Giambi's leadoff home run in the second inning, Ortiz gave up just three hits in the next five innings to keep the Angels in the game. He had given up 12 earned runs his previous two starts.

``As the game went on, he made some terrific pitches with his fastball,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

--Odds and ends: Tim Salmon drew a walk in the eighth inning, the 867th of his career, setting the team record previously held by Brian Downing. ... Triple-A shortstop Alfredo Amezaga extended his hitting streak to 22 games Thursday, the longest in baseball this season. Amezaga, better known for his defense, entered Friday hitting .350 with eight stolen bases. ... The Angels' May 1 rainout at Cleveland will be made up Aug. 9 as part of a day-night doubleheader at Jacobs Field.

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ANGELS vs. BOSTON

- Gabe Lacques