BATS, THOUGHTS ARE POWERFUL.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA 

Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS -- On the day the Angels' home-run drought ended, their general manager said he is trying to hit one out of the park as well.

Garrett Anderson hit a home run off the facing of the Metrodome's upper deck to end the team's streak of 14 games without a long ball, the second-longest streak in franchise history. They had an 18-game homer drought in 1976.

The home run led a rare offensive outburst, while Joe Saunders held down the Minnesota Twins in a 7-2 Angels victory that avoided a three-game sweep.

With Seattle losing to Toronto, the Angels moved two games ahead of the Mariners in the AL West.

If Bill Stoneman has his way, perhaps long balls will not be as scarce down the stretch this season. Stoneman said that Saturday's trade of Jose Molina to the New York Yankees was small time compared with what he is trying to get done.

"We still have other things we're trying to do," Stoneman said. "We'll see if we can get them done but there are still some other discussions going on."

In June, the Angels looked like they were finally in a position to brush aside recent big-bat grumblings around the time of the trade deadline. With that deadline now just eight days away, the Angels are once again pursuing the type of heavy hitter that has eluded them on the trade market.

"This is different than a few years ago when we got (Alex) Ochoa from Milwaukee (in 2002)," Stoneman said. "In that case we were looking for a bench guy, an outfielder. We're not looking for that right now. What we're looking for is somebody to be an everyday guy and a guy to help us."

Reggie Willits' recent struggles likely means the Angels are in the market for a designated hitter/outfield type who could swing for the fences. So who fits that profile?

The Cincinnati Reds' Adam Dunn is the standout player in that category. The Reds were rumored recently to be ready to ship Dunn to Milwaukee for outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., reliever Matt Wise and an infield prospect, but that talk was shot down.

One problem with acquiring Dunn, who has 26 home runs and 64 RBIs, is that a trade would make him eligible for free agency after this season. The Angels have continually said they have little interest in renting acquisitions.

Other big bats who have had trade rumors attached at some point include former Angel Troy Glaus, now with the Blue Jays, Texas' Mark Teixeira and the Chicago White Sox's Jermaine Dye. Kansas City's Reggie Sanders sits a notch below those players.

Any of them would help with the power shortage that was extended to 134 innings before Anderson crushed a full-count pitch in the third inning against Twins starter Matt Garza (1-2). The Angels also scored twice on bases-loaded walks, one to Maicer Izturis in the first inning and another to Robb Quinlan in the sixth. The Angels scored a run in each of the last four innings.

Saunders (4-0) made it stand up. In his first outing since taking Ervin Santana's spot in the rotation, Saunders gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings with a walk and five strikeouts. He lowered his big-league ERA to 2.89.

The left-hander, marking his fourth stint with the Angels this season,

will finally get an extended look instead of being an injury replacement like he was the first three times on the roster.

What he showed was promising. Saunders worked his way out of a bases-loaded no-out jam in the third inning when he gave up a sacrifice fly for a run to Jeff Cirillo and then ended the threat by getting Saturday's hero, Joe Maue,r to hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

Saunders had retired nine consecutive hitters before Cirillo doubled in the sixth inning and scored on a single from reigning league MVP Justin Morneau. The Twins didn't score again.

"I think Joe is getting a grasp of what his game is," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's not afraid to challenge guys. His ability to change speeds is a strength of his. That also includes matching that with the ability to pitch inside. So he understands his game and he relies on his defense."

While his minor-league record was a below-average 4-7 with a 5.11 ERA, he has been stingy on the major-league level.

"This was nice because -- I wouldn't say we were struggling -- we weren't hot," Saunders said. "It's nice to get back on track and get a win."

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