HUSON STEPS IN WITH BAT AND GLOVE TO CARRY ANGELS : ANGELS 4, SEATTLE 2.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

It would have been a cute little story if Gary DiSarcina's return to the Angels lineup after missing the first 68 games of the season resulted in a dramatic victory.

Truth is, it was DiSarcina's replacement who started an eighth-inning rally that lifted the Angels to a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners before 26,153 at the Kingdome.

Jeff Huson pinch hit for DiSarcina with one out in the eighth inning and the Angels trailing 1-0. Until then, the visitors had just three hits off Mariners starter Freddy Garcia. Huson doubled to right field, then scored on a single by Darin Erstad to tie the game at 1. Randy Velarde followed with a triple into the right-center field gap to score Erstad for a 2-1 lead.

Garcia was replaced by Jeff Fassero, who induced Mo Vaughn to ground out. But Garret Anderson was able to come up with a two-out hit, a single to left to score Velarde and give the Angels a 3-1 advantage.

It was the first time the Angels have scored at least three in an inning since the sixth inning on June 6 against the Dodgers - when Troy Glaus hit a three-run homer. That's a span of 121 innings.

The Angels' big rally wasn't the end of the Mariners, though. In the bottom of the eighth, Alex Rodriguez doubled home Brian Hunter, then went to third when Ken Griffey Jr. grounded to second for the first out.

Huson then made the first of two key defensive plays in the inning. With the infield in, Edgar Martinez hit a sharp grounder that Huson fielded, and after looking the Rodriguez back to third, threw Martinez out at first. Butch Huskey followed with a soft liner to right field, but Matt Luke made a diving catch to preserve the lead.

Leading off the top of the ninth, Luke homered off ex-Angels pitcher Allen Watson for a 4-2 Angels lead.

The win was the Angels' second in a row, the first time they've won back-to-back games since June 1 and 2, when they beat the Twins two in a row.

In his first major-league game of the season since suffering a broken bone in his left forearm Feb. 21, DiSarcina went 1 for 2 (infield single) and was errorless on all five grounders hit to him.

DiSarcina hit .287 with 56 RBI last season and was named the team's MVP by his teammates. Obviously, what DiSarcina brings to a team isn't directly reflected by statistics.

``I know what I'm capable of doing and what I'm not capable of doing,'' DiSarcina said. ``I'm not capable of doing what Tim Salmon can do - hit home runs and drive in runs. I'm not going to alter a game with stats. If they're expecting me to hit grand slams and three-run homers, they're mistaken. But attitude-wise, defensively, I can be more of a leader out there. I'll try to run the bases correctly, be aggressive - that can be effective.''

``He means everything, he's our leader,'' Angels catcher/outfielder Todd Greene said. ``He doesn't have to hit .300 or hit 20 home runs. He brings a mentality to the team that we need. He's aggressive, he's a great baserunner, he's our leader. There's definitely been a lack of a strong team leader.''

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PHOTO Angels manager Terry Collins removes pitcher Steve Sparks.

John Froschauer/Associated Press