ANGELS WIN, LOSE MOLINA ANGELS 7, DETROIT 5.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - The Angels won their fourth consecutive game Friday night, 7-5 over the Detroit Tigers, but it might have come at a steep price.

Starting catcher Bengie Molina fell to the ground in pain as he ran to third base during the Angels' game-winning three-run rally in the seventh inning. Molina has been diagnosed initially with a strained right hamstring but will have an MRI exam today at UC Irvine Medical Center to find out if the hamstring is torn.

The seventh was a painful but productive inning for the Angels, as they rallied from a 5-4 deficit. After Molina was hurt, David Eckstein drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Later in the inning, Troy Glaus was hit in the back by a thrown ball as he ran to first base.

The Angels finished with 13 hits off four Tigers pitchers, including a career-best three hits by Shawn Wooten. Eckstein reached base four times with a single, two walks and the hit-by-pitch. Adam Kennedy had three hits and Scott Spiezio had two.

Scott Schoeneweis started for the Angels and went 6 2/3 innings, though he gave up more than three runs for the first time in seven starts this season. The Tigers got five off him (four earned) and eight hits, but the Angels' bullpen came to the rescue, as Ben Weber (1-0), Al Levine and Troy Percival (seventh save) closed it out.

With the Angels trailing 5-4 going into the bottom of the seventh, Wooten led off with a single to right field. One out later, Molina singled to center and Wally Joyner walked, loading the bases for Kennedy.

Kennedy laced a line-drive single to center, scoring pinch runner Orlando Palmeiro, but Molina pulled up as he reached third, then fell to the ground in obvious pain, clutching his right hamstring. He had to be helped from the field by trainers.

Eckstein then drove in the go-ahead run the hard way, being hit by a pitch thrown by Danny Patterson on the upper right arm and forcing home pinch runner Jose Nieves from third.

The Angels added a third run in the inning for a 7-5 lead when second baseman Damion Easley booted a grounder by Darin Erstad. The Tigers got out of the inning cheaply enough when Glaus grounded into a double play. Tigers third baseman Jose Macias went home for the first out, and catcher Brandon Inge's throw to first hit Glaus in the back. But home-plate umpire Darryl Cousins ruled Glaus was out because of interference by Kennedy as he crossed the plate.

The Tigers got off to a good start, scoring three runs in the second inning thanks to well-placed bloops and bleeders.

Dean Palmer opened the inning with a bloop double just inside the right- field foul line. Deivi Cruz followed with a cue-ball single to right and Juan Encarnacion drove in Palmer with a bloop single to right.

Easley hit the ball as hard as anyone in the inning, managing a sacrifice fly to center to make it 2-0. Inge capped the scoring with a ground-ball RBI single to center.

The Angels, though, made quick work of Tigers starter Matt Perisho, who pitched a scoreless first inning but never made it out of the third.