BYRD SIMPLY WINGS IT PITCHES SIX-HITTER TO BEAT RANGERS ANGELS 5, TEXAS 1.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - When Vladimir Guerrero digs in against Texas Rangers pitching, special things tend to transpire, like MVP awards, and it takes a lot to upstage the Angels' slugging right fielder.

Paul Byrd found a way to do just that Monday night.

Certainly, Guerrero's first-inning, two-run home run was as majestic as it was significant, but he didn't have to face the Rangers' suffocating lineup. Byrd did, and it took just 92 pitches to complete nine very impressive innings in a 5-1 victory at Angel Stadium.

The Rangers came in on the Angels' heels, just 1 1/2 games behind them in the American League West, and their offense led the major leagues in home runs, runs and extra-base hits. First baseman Mark Teixeira and second baseman Alfonso Soriano are 1-2 on the AL home run list.

On Monday, they along with cleanup hitter Hank Blalock combined to go 0 for 12 against Byrd's deceptive, old- school delivery and his array of pitches that rarely exceed 88 mph.

When he got Soriano to fly out to deep left field to end it, Byrd had a six-hitter and his first complete game since Sept. 14, 2002. That was two teams and one elbow ligament ago, which made his on-field celebration with catcher Bengie Molina all the more poignant.

Two years after Tommy John surgery, Byrd is 7-5 with a 3.87 ERA for a first-place team, and he takes none of this for granted.

``It was a gut check for me,'' he said of 2003 surgery. ``I thought this could be it for me. But I really love playing baseball. And it's been a while since I've been out there in the ninth. I didn't want to let (manager) Mike (Scioscia) down. I felt a surge of energy.''

So he retired the Rangers in order, capping a night in which he needed nine pitches or less in six of the innings he worked. For the seventh time in 12 starts, he did not walk a batter, and the Rangers' aggressive swinging was rooted in those statistics, even if they didn't yield results.

``It was just getting ahead of guys and putting them away,'' Scioscia said. ``The exclamation point is doing it against that lineup. I don't know if I've seen someone with quite the deception, the ability to put it together like Paul. It's a unique package.''

Unique might be the best way to describe Guerrero's success against Texas. One pitch after Darin Erstad singled, Guerrero pounced on a first-pitch fastball from Chris Young, driving it over the fence in left field for a two-run homer in the top of the first inning.

The 2-0 lead extended a pair of impressive streaks. Erstad's single extended his hitting streak to 20 games, tied for the longest in the major leagues this season. He had two hits and is hitting .372 during the streak.

Guerrero is good against most teams, great against Texas. His final-week surge against the Rangers vaulted him to the 2004 AL Most Valuable Player award, capping a year in which he hit .432 with eight homers against the Rangers.

Not much has changed since.

Guerrero's homer extended to 25 games his hitting streak against the Rangers, the longest current streak in the majors. In 12 at-bats against Young, Guerrero has eight hits, three home runs.

After Guerrero's homer, Byrd said he saw Blalock and shortstop Michael Young shake their head in a ``here we go again'' manner. Guerrero was just getting started.

An Erstad grounder got Chone Figgins to third base in the third, setting up Guerrero's sacrifice fly for a 3-1 lead. In the fifth, Erstad and Guerrero hit back-to-back doubles off Young (6-4), who also yielded an RBI double to Bengie Molina for a 5-1 lead.

It was more than enough for Byrd, who appreciated every bit of support.

``It seems like he always gets a big hit when I pitch,'' Byrd said of Guerrero, who homered and drove in five runs in his last start. ``It really relaxes me.''

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

no caption (Darin Erstad)

Box:

(1) HOT STREAK

(2) GAME RECAP

(3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(4) ALMANAC