ANGELS VLAD FOR MORE RUNS ANGELS 10, SEATTLE 7.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

SEATTLE - They banged out 16 hits, scored 10 runs, saw their newly-acquired superstar fall a triple short of the cycle and their resident superstar bang out his first two home runs of the season.

And still, as the bottom of the ninth inning began Wednesday night, the Angels had to call upon the services of closer Troy Percival.

So it goes for a team that is fairly certain its lineup will be superb, less certain that its starting pitching will be of a similar caliber. On Wednesday night, the big boppers were enough to overcome a shaky outing by Jarrod Washburn and produce a 10-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Through two games, both victories, the Angels' offensive numbers are staggering: 20 runs, 28 hits and six home runs, all coming at pitcher- friendly Safeco Field, most coming off starting pitchers Joel Pineiro and Jamie Moyer, who combined to win 37 games last year.

At a time of the year when pitchers are supposed to be ahead of the hitters, the Angels are way ahead of the curve. Vladimir Guerrero ripped his first homer as a member of the Angels on Wednesday, a prodigious three-run shot off Pineiro in the second inning. Garret Anderson hit two homers, including a two-run shot that staked Washburn to an 8-0 lead.

And Guerrero later showed his savvy, escaping a rundown in the eighth inning to score when reliever Rafael Soriano dropped the ball covering home, giving the Angels a much-needed insurance run and a 10-7 lead.

That the Angels were still hungry for insurance after nine runs already crossed was the most disconcerting development of the night, a necessity created by Washburn and reliever Ben Weber.

Washburn shut out the Mariners for three innings, but after Anderson's shot off Pineiro handed him an 8-0 lead, he was perhaps too generous with his location. The Mariners rapped five hits off him in a four-run fourth, and Bret Boone made it 8-5 with a solo homer in the fifth.

But after giving up a leadoff single to Rich Aurilia in the sixth, Washburn ended his night by striking out John Olerud. It was his sixth strikeout of the evening, many of them coming on his improved off-speed pitches.

Weber, however, made things messier. He gave up a walk, double, RBI groundout and RBI double to his first four batters, making it a 9-7 game with the tying run on second and Boone up.

But Boone made a half-offering at a two-strike pitch in the dirt and was called out by home plate umpire Larry Poncino, who drew the ire of Boone and Mariners manager Bob Melvin.

But the threat was over, and the Angels' earlier offensive theatrics stood up. They milked eight runs and 87 pitches out of Pineiro, who was done after four innings thanks to established superstars Guerrero and Anderson, and two-game wonder Jose Molina.

Molina, the backup catcher who last season did not draw a walk until September, milked Pineiro for a one-out pass in the second.

David Eckstein and Darin Erstad followed with RBI singles, and on Erstad's hit, third base coach Ron Roenicke waved Molina home.

The dust had hardly settled from Molina's mad dash when Guerrero stepped in and crushed an 0-1 offering from Pineiro well beyond the wall in left-center. The three-run clout was his 235th career homer and gave the Angels a 5-0 lead.

Molina, taking full advantage of his older brother's hamstring injury, added an RBI double the next inning. Anderson touched Pineiro for a two-run shot in the fourth for an 8-0 lead.

After he rolled through the first three innings, it figured Washburn didn't need all the support. Still, he hung around long enough for the victory, which came on the heels of Bartolo Colon's tour de force on Opening Day.

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Photo:

Garret Anderson (right) is greeted by Vladimir Guerrero after the first of his two homers Wednesday.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

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GAME RECAP