LACKEY DOES IT AGAIN GETS 10 STRIKEOUTS, COMPLETE-GAME WIN FOR ANGELS ANGELS 4, TAMPA BAY 0.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- John Lackey has proved lately that perfection is in the eye of the beholder.

The right-hander, who gave up a leadoff single in his previous start and retired the next 27 batters to just miss out on a perfect game, is looking rather flawless to the Angels.

Lackey recorded his third consecutive 10-strikeout game and second consecutive shutout Friday as the Angels opened the second half right where they left off with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Angels have won nine of their past 10 games.

Lackey is the first Angels pitcher to record back-to-back shutouts since Mark Langston in June 1992.

His strikeout run began July 2 when he struck out 10 Dodgers over 6 2/3 innings. Against the Oakland Athletics on July 7, Lackey's near-perfect game also included 10 strikeouts.

Despite six days of rest between starts, Lackey didn't lose his touch. His 10 strikeouts again Friday matched his career high. In addition to the past three games, Lackey has done it three other times in his career.

``I don't go looking for strikeouts unless there's a runner on third with one out, or something like that,'' Lackey said. ``There are certain situations when I will. Usually when I get to two strikes I'll take one shot at it and after that just try to get the guy out.''

It was the first time an Angels pitcher had at least 10 or more strikeouts in three consecutive games since Langston did it in June 1990.

Left off the American League All-Star team, primarily because his won-loss record belied internal numbers like ERA and opponents' batting average, Lackey (8-5) is proving to be as menacing as anybody throwing in Pittsburgh earlier this week.

He has not given up a run in any of his past three starts and has won the past four times he has taken the mound. Lackey's ERA has dropped from an already impressive 3.46 on June 15 to 2.69 exactly one month later.

``Every fifth day it's his biggest game of the year,'' said Adam Kennedy, who is one of Lackey's closest friends on the team. ``It's fun to know that you have a bulldog on the mound those nights. It rubs off on the rest of the staff. It's what a leading guy does and he's that guy right now.''

While it took some time to get going, the Angels' resurgent offense also stayed on track through the break.

The Angels finally broke through against former Dodger Jae Seo in the sixth inning when Vladimir Guerrero led off with a home run.

It was Guerrero's 19th home run of the season and third this month in just 10 games. Guerrero had just three home runs in the entire month of June, when he struggled with pitch selection.

Kennedy (Cal State Northridge) added an RBI single in the sixth with a two-out single to center. Kennedy waited on a low breaking ball and lined it past Seo to score Garret Anderson from second base.

Seo, who was acquired by the Devil Rays on June 27 in a deal that netted the Dodgers left-hander Mark Hendrickson, gave up two runs on six hits in six innings. He is 0-3 in three starts with Tampa Bay after going 2-3 with the Dodgers.

In the seventh inning, the Angels went right back to work against reliever Shawn Camp.

Guerrero and Anderson delivered two-out singles before Mike Napoli was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Juan Rivera delivered a two-run single.

It was more than enough for Lackey, who extended his scoreless streak to 262/3 innings with his 107-pitch outing.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) John Lackey pitched his second complete-game shutout and had his third straight 10-strikeout performance.

(2) The Angels' Vladimir Guerrero, who went 3-for-4, hits a solo home run in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie against Tampa Bay.

Jeff Lewis/Associated Press

Box:

ANGELS vs. TAMPA BAY

- Doug Padilla