ANGELS OUTLASTED, OUTSCORED : SUPPAN GETS ROCKED FOR 4 RUNS AND 4 HITS IN FRIGHTFUL 1ST FRAME BOSTON 10, ANGELS 9.

Byline: Associated Press 

It wasn't a classic, nor was it a game the players will remember fondly. It was just long.

Reggie Jefferson hit a solo homer and Troy O'Leary had a two-run single in Boston's three-run sixth as the Red Sox came back to beat the Angels 10-9 Monday night.

The teams combined for 31 hits and stranded 24 runners in a game that lasted three hours, 58 minutes.

``I don't remember the game,'' joked Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn. ``We outlasted them, that's all. It would have been tough if we lost.''

O'Leary drove in three runs and Mike Stanley and Jefferson each had two RBI as the Red Sox posted their 14th win in 19 games.

California's Jorge Fabregas had career-high four RBI.

``As a catcher, this was a real tough game,'' Fabregas said. ``Everything we threw up they hit. The only thing I remember about the game was the length of the game.''

After giving up three runs and falling behind 9-7 in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox regained the lead with three runs off reliever Greg Gohr (5-9) in the bottom of the inning. Jefferson led off with his 16th homer, Stanley and Mike Greenwell singled, both runners moved up on a grounder and scored on O'Leary's single to center.

Kerry Lacy (1-0), the fourth of seven Boston pitchers, got the win in just his second appearance in a Red Sox uniform. Heathcliff Slocumb pitched the ninth for his 20th save.

Red Sox pitchers held the Angels to two hits in the final three innings.

``We had every reason to believe that we could keep coming back as long as our pitching stopped them,'' Boston manager Kevin Kennedy said. `` Once it did, it became a dogfight. The last three innings we saw some pretty good pitching. The first six were tough.''

In the sixth, J.T. Snow tied the game 7-7 with an RBI single, and after third baseman Tim Naehring's two-out fielding error kept the inning alive and loaded the bases, Fabregas, who entered the game with just 12 RBI, delivered a two-run single to put California ahead 9-7.

Trailing 4-3 in the third, the Red Sox took the lead with three runs off reliever Pep Harris. John Valentin was hit by a pitch leading off before Jefferson and Stanley had consecutive RBI doubles. O'Leary's two-out single made it 6-4.

The Angels jumped ahead 4-0 in the first, scoring three runs before making an out. After Randy Velarde drew a leadoff walk, Jim Edmonds homered, his 22nd, Chili Davis followed Tim Salmon's double with an RBI single, making it 3-0. Boston starter Jeff Suppan, from Crespi High School, loaded the bases before Fabregas greeted reliever Vaughn Eshelman with a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox cut the score to 4-2 in the bottom of the first on RBI singles by Mo Vaughn and Valentin.

In the second, Boston chased starter Jason Grimsley with a run, narrowing its deficit to 4-3 on Jeff Frye's run-scoring single.

Suppan retired just one of the seven batters he faced, allowing four runs on four hits with two walks.

Notes: Kevin Mitchell, traded by the Red Sox to Cincinnati on July 30, is not forgotten by his former teammates. Vaughn wore his old uniform pants during batting practice. . . . Boston infielder Wil Cordero, sidelined from May 22 until August 12 with a broken right tibia, is experiencing stiffness in his leg and did not play for the second consecutive game. He was only available for pinch-hitting duties. . . . Boston reliever Stan Belinda limped off the mound after injuring his right groin muscle in the seventh inning. . . . The Angels have not won a road series since June 10-12 at Kansas City. . . . Grimsley has allowed 14 runs in 11-1/3 innings in his career in Fenway.

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PHOTO Red Sox starter Jeff Suppan had no success in a horri ble first inning against the Angels.

Associated Press