CONFIDENT ANGELS SWEEP WHITE SOX : HUDLER STEPS UP FOR HIS TURN AS STAR ANGELS 14, CHICAGO 2.

Byline: Tim Trepany Daily News Staff Writer

Talk all you want about the streaking Angels.

Tell them they are one of the hottest teams in baseball by virtue of their 14-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Stadium on Wednesday.

The win was their 10th in their past 11 games and completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox, who entered the series with the second-best record in the American League.

Tell them how their offense has never been better, getting 10 or more hits in seven straight games.

Just don't mention the Texas Rangers, who lead the Angels by six games in the AL West. There are five letters in the word `Texas,' but the Angels are treating it as if it has four.

``It's still early, too early to worry about Texas,'' said shortstop Gary DiSarcina. ``It's good to see we're playing well. But we know we have to play well at the end.

``We've been concentrating more, really trying to focus on what we do.''

Chalk it up to a hard lesson learned last season, when the Angels got off to a fast start before committing one of the biggest collapses in major-league history, blowing an 11-game lead, including 10-1/2 of it in a mere 35 days.

Now they say they're just worrying about what they can control - themselves.

``No one is scoreboard watching and checking the standings,'' said first baseman J.T. Snow. ``All we can do is take it one day at a time.''

Added utility player Rex Hudler, ``It's a marathon, not a sprint. We've learned more than anybody what a fast start can get you.''

For Angels' opponents lately, a fast start has gotten them nowhere. The Angels have had to rally in all of their past 10 victories, including Wednesday, when they overcame two one-run deficits before blowing the game open with a seven-run seventh and a five-run eighth.

In what is becoming commonplace for the Angels, a player who was supposed to fulfill only a secondary role stepped to the forefront. Tuesday it was 37-year-old catcher Don Slaught, whose two RBI singles accounted for the tying and winning runs.

This time it was the 35-year-old Hudler, who started in left field for the second time this season and went 3 for 4 with two doubles, three RBI and two stolen bases.

His fifth-inning double scored DiSarcina to make it 2-2 and he drove home two runs with a double in the seventh that ignited the Angels' game-clinching rally.

DiSarcina and rookie Darin Erstad scored on the double, which came after Erstad was walked intentionally to get to Hudler.

``I didn't take it as an insult because Darin Erstad is a player - I would love to have his future,'' Hudler said. ``I just said, `Hud, it's time to step up.' I was fortunate to hit it in the gap. In baseball, the flood gates opened, and that's what happened.

``I can contribute wherever they want me to. I'm just trying to help the team win. I'm not interested in padding my stats.''

After Hudler's double made it 4-2, the White Sox pitching fell apart. Three straight walks forced in a run before Snow cleared the bases with a three-run triple that made it 9-2.

In the eighth, Tim Salmon's home run with two on was the highlight of a five-run inning. It was his 10th homer in the past 16 games and helped make the 26-game drought during which he went without one earlier in the season an even more distant memory.

Designated hitter Chili Davis also homered and drove in two runs, and DiSarcina got two hits and scored three runs for the Angels.

``We're starting to get that (confident) feeling,'' said Jason Grimsley, who gave up two runs in 6-2/3 innings but did not get the decision. ``The feeling didn't exist earlier in the year. We would get down. But that feeling is starting to catch. Confidence is a big part of this game. Right now, we're starting to get a lot of confidence.''

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Photo

Photo: White Sox outfielder Darren Lewis isn't close to the homer off the bat of the Angels' Chili Davis.

Gus Ruelas / Daily News