BAD PITCHES DO IN ANGELS RAYS SET TEAM RECORD WITH FIVE HOME RUNS TAMPA BAY 11, ANGELS 9.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The idea is simple. The execution of it, however, is not.

``It comes down to if you make good pitches, you'll get people out,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after the Tampa Bay Devil Rays hit five home runs - including Bubba Trammell's game-winner in the 10th - to beat the Angels 11-9 in front of 22,042 Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

The five homers set a Devil Rays record and came one day after the Angels hit six to tie a club record. The Angels pitching, which had been so good through the first two weeks of the season, has come apart at the seams in the past week.

Since last Sunday's 3-1 win over the White Sox, the Angels have given up 58 runs in six games. They gave up double figures in four of those games.

``Right now, we're in a little streak where we're not making good pitches on a consistent basis,'' Scioscia said. ``And you've seen what can happen. We'll get back to it.''

The Devil Rays got two home runs from Fred McGriff, and one each by Jose Canseco, Dave Martinez and Trammell. Trammell, batting as a pinch-hitter, hit a 3-2 change-up from Angels reliever Kent Mercker over the left-field fence for the game-winner.

The other homers were just as damaging. The Angels had taken a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the fifth when starter Ramon Ortiz threw a pitch to Canseco that was belted off the catwalk in center field. The ball came straight down and landed on the field, but by rule, it's a home run.

The homer, which tied the game at 6, was estimated at 472 feet, the longest in Tropicana Field history. A day earlier, the Angels' Troy Glaus set the record with a 470-foot blast.

``The pitch to Canseco probably wasn't the right selection at the time,'' catcher Matt Walbeck said of the 0-1 fastball.

Ortiz gave up six runs and five hits, but his six-inning outing was the longest by an Angels starter in the past four days.

``He was a little squirrelly at times,'' Walbeck said of Ortiz. ``Obviously he has room for improvement.''

The game remained tied at 6 until the seventh inning when McGriff faced Shigetoshi Hasegawa with two on and two out. McGriff took a 2-2 curveball that appeared to drop in for strike three, but plate umpire Paul Emmel ruled it a ball. On a full count, McGriff hammered Hasegawa's next pitch into the right-field seats for a 9-6 Devil Rays lead.

``(McGriff) was looking away, away,'' Hasegawa said. ``I always pitch him away. But I threw it middle-in and it surprised him.''

It also seemed to surprise Emmel, but nobody would use it as an excuse.

``The ump makes a call, ball or strike, and you have to live with it,'' Scioscia said. ``It's tough to have it come down to one pitch or one situation and say `What if?' There are a lot of opportunities. You make good pitches on a consistent basis, it won't come down to one pitch.''

However, the game ended on one bad pitch after the Angels had rallied with one run in the eighth and two more in the ninth to tie it. With two out and a runner on second in the bottom of the 10th, Mercker tried to throw his change-up down but left it up.

``Bounce it, in the dirt, on the plate, anything but wood,'' Mercker said. ``I wish I was hitting and got that pitch. . . . It wasn't the wrong pitch, just a bad pitch.''

With first base open, Scioscia considered walking Trammell to pitch to Miguel Cairo.

``We talked about it,'' Scioscia said. ``Trammell's been hot, but mostly against right-handed pitchers. We thought it was a good matchup with Mercker's off-speed stuff.''

Closer Troy Percival got up in the bullpen in the ninth but was back on the bench in the 10th when the game was decided. Scioscia said he'd prefer not to use Percival unless they have a lead.

``If it's a big enough game and the situation's right, we'll consider anything,'' Scioscia said. ``But it has to be special circumstances for him to come into a game like today's.''

ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY

Time: 10:15 a.m. at Tropicana Field

TV/Radio: No TV; KMPC-AM (1540), KIK-FM (94.3), XPRS-AM (1090 Spanish)

Matchup: Jason Dickson (2-0, 3.93 ERA) will start for Anaheim to wrap up the Angels' first road trip of the season. They're 4-5 on the trip so far but have lost four of their last six. Darin Erstad has cooled off some, his average down to .446, but Mo Vaughn is beginning to hit, raising his average to .319. Dave Eiland (0-0, 10.80) will start for the Devil Rays.

- Joe Haakenson

CAPTION(S):

box

Box: Angels vs. Tampa Bay (see text)