ANGELS NOTEBOOK: IT'S TIME FOR A SALMON RUN.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

SEATTLE - When the Angels began their six-game trip to Baltimore and Seattle, nobody on the club had a lower batting average than Tim Salmon's .217. But that was about to change.

Salmon had hit a game-winning homer in the 13th inning on April 29, the second-to-last day of the homestand, and said at the time that maybe it was what he needed to get going. It turned out he was right.

Salmon hit .474 (9 for 19) on the trip with three homers and six RBI, raising his overall average to .261.

``It looks like it,'' Salmon said when asked if the game-winning homer was the catalyst he needed. ``Up to that point I felt I was swinging pretty good, I just wasn't getting hits. Sometimes it takes something to get you over the hump. You're looking for that bloop single in a crucial situation. For me, it was that homer.''

Salmon said he was never worried about getting his swing to where he needed it.

``I've got a track record, I have that to go on,'' he said. ``I've had bad starts in the past and went on to have good seasons.

``I'm not isolated. There are always guys out there off to slow starts and they rally to have a great year. You don't expect (Ken) Griffey to hit .200 all season, do you? It's not fun to have a slow start by any means, but it helps when other guys are having a good start. Then when they cool off, I'm hot, it's my turn. It seems a little bit unrealistic for all nine guys to be hot all the time.''

--What a difference a month makes: As hot as Darin Erstad was in April, he's been cold in May. After Sunday's 0-for-5 performance, he is hitting .115 (3 for 26) this month. But Erstad will not overanalyze his swing and try to make too many changes, like he did last season.

``The approach is the same,'' said Erstad, who is hitting .383. ``You still have to hit the ball in the same spots, stay inside the ball. You make little adjustments but nothing drastic.''

Erstad said his current slump doesn't make him feel any added pressure, but ``It drives me to be better. If I'm just going through the motions, I'm going to quit.''

ANGELS VS. OAKLAND

Time: 7:05 p.m. at Edison Field

TV/Radio: FSN; KLAC-AM (570), XPRS-AM (1090 Spanish)

Matchup: Ramon Ortiz (2-2, 5.47 ERA) will start for Anaheim against Oakland's Ariel Prieto (first appearance). The Angels finished their trip to Baltimore and Seattle at 3-3 but lost the final two games to the Mariners after holding a share of first place with them. The Angels, currently 16-16, have not been more than two games above or below .500 all season.

- Joe Haakenson

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Box: Angels vs. Oakland (see text)