ANGELS NOTEBOOK: SALMON IS NEARING MILESTONE.

Byline: BEN VILLA Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- With the number of games in the season fading and his at-bats dwindling because of the emergence of Juan Rivera, Tim Salmon knows he might finish his career without hitting 300 home runs.

But at least this week, he'll get the chance to inch a little closer.

Despite getting two hits Saturday and belting his 297th career home run, Salmon wasn't in the starting lineup Sunday against the Texas Rangers, but starting tonight, that figures to change.

The Angels will play a make-up game in Chicago at 4:05 p.m. today before moving on to Cleveland, where they will start a three-game series beginning Tuesday.

``I know the season and my career is coming to a close and I'm starting to take in more things now like hearing the fans,'' Salmon said.

When the season started, Salmon only needed 10 home runs to reach 300 and when he hit six almost right out of the gate when Rivera was out with a rib injury, it looked like he was a cinch to get it.

But ever since Rivera returned in May, he's picked up his play, hitting 11 home runs in July and 13 in his past 28 games. He's now an everyday fixture in the lineup at designated hitter and that has come at the expense of Salmon, who has appeared in only seven out of the Angels' past 32 games.

Before Saturday's solo shot, Salmon hadn't homered since May 27 against Baltimore, but Angels manager Mike Scioscia said that the franchise's career leader in home runs figures to play a lot more in the upcoming days.

``We're building some continuity against left-handers and Tim does well against them,'' Scioscia said.

A long time ago: When the Angels were originally scheduled to play the White Sox on May 11 before the game was rained out in Chicago, Kelvim Escobar was scheduled to start and at the time, his emotions were running high.

About two weeks prior to that game, he started against the White Sox and was accused by their manager Ozzie Guillen, of hitting A.J. Pierzynski on purpose.

Pierzynski was the catcher who was involved in the infamous strikeout play in Game 2 of last year's American League Championship Series and Escobar didn't take kindly to Guillen's words and he was looking forward to getting some sort of revenge on the mound.

Escobar will be on the mound again tonight when the two teams make up the game tonight at U.S. Cellular Field.