ANGELS NOTEBOOK: GIVING MUCH-NEEDED RELIEF.

Byline: Frank Welch  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Ever wonder why managers fret over those final days of spring training, when it's time to figure out which pitchers to keep, or which pitchers to send to the minors, or perhaps, release?

The Angels proved why a No. 9 or No. 10 pitcher on a roster is so important during its 7-6, come-from-behind victory Sunday over the Texas Rangers at Edison Field.

Anaheim starter Jason Dickson wobbled through 1 1/3 innings, leaving his team trailing 5-2 and with runners on first and second. At that point, the Rangers already had five runs and six hits, and 10 of their first 14 hitters had reached base successfully.

By the eighth inning, Texas still had five runs and six hits, and the Angels, thanks to a pair of two-run homers by Mo Vaughn and a solo shot from Garret Anderson, had forged a tie game.

Relievers Al Levine (3 2/3 innings), Eric Weaver (one inning) and Mark Petkovsek (one inning) pitched no-hit ball over the next 5 2/3 innings, retiring 14 in a row at one point.

``The story of the week,'' Angels' manager Mike Scioscia said of his relievers. ``These guys not only are stepping out of their roles, but out of their comfort areas as well in terms of where they like to be used.''

Shigetoshi Hasegawa (2-0) ended up getting the win in relief, going the final two innings and surviving Ivan Rodriguez's go-ahead homer in the ninth inning.

--Mercker still stable: The status of Angels' pitcher Kent Mercker was unchanged Sunday.

Mercker will remain hospitalized at UC Irvine Medical Center this week while doctors perform additional tests, including another arteriogram, in an effort to determine the cause of Mercker's cerebral hemorrhage. He remains in stable condition.

--Not all Wetteland: Both Troy Glaus' game-tying and Scott Spiezio's game-winning, ninth-inning homers came off Texas reliever Francisco Cordero.

With Texas entering the ninth inning with a one-run lead, one might ask where was closer John Wetteland?

Wetteland recorded heavy-maintenance saves Friday and Saturday, and Rangers' manager Johnny Oates stuck with Cordero, who had not allowed a homer in 19 1/3 innings entering Sunday.

``I'm just trying to even out my mail,'' Oates joked. ``It's been running overwhelmingly against bringing John in, and I want to even it out with people ripping me for not bringing him in.''

--Notes: Spiezio broke an 0-for-11 drought when he went deep to win it for the Angels. . . . Vaughn's two homers gave him three multiple-homer games this season and 27 for his career (25 of which are two-homer games). . . . The Angels have hit 39 homers over their last 20 games, and both the Angels and Rangers combined to hit 22 (13 by Anaheim) during this four-game series.