NOT SO TOUGH THIS TIME ANGELS ROMP PAST WOEFUL DEVIL RAYS ANGELS 10, DEVIL RAYS 2.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Angels manager Mike Scioscia sat in the dugout at Tropicana Field Tuesday afternoon and - with a straight face - said the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have played his Angels as tough as any team all season.

Scioscia pointed out though the Angels were 5-1 against them, three of those wins came by one run. It was a one-run game through five innings Tuesday night when the Angels broke it open with a five-run sixth en route to a 10-2 win before an announced crowd of 10,146 fans.

With the win, the Angels moved to within 3 1/2 games of the idle Oakland A's in the American League West and increased their lead in the wild-card race to 2 1/2 games over Seattle, which also had Tuesday off.

Angels right fielder Orlando Palmeiro had two hits and a career-high four RBI, three coming on a bases-clearing double with two outs in the sixth. David Eckstein, Brad Fullmer and Adam Kennedy added two hits apiece in support of starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn, who improved to 16-5 but lasted only five innings.

Washburn became the first Angels pitcher to win 16 games since Chuck Finley and Mark Langston each won 16 in 1993. But Washburn had to work for this one, making 100 pitches and struggling to maintain his command.

``It's a mechanical flaw I'm going to have to figure out,'' said Washburn, who gave up two runs and six hits, walked three and struck out six. ``(Pitching coach) Buddy (Black) is real good at noticing things like that. I'll talk to him (today) and iron things out.''

Black said he did notice something with Washburn's delivery.

``I did pick up a little something; it was minor,'' Black said. ``He seemed to be a little bit rushed during his balance point. When he did that sporadically it caused some inconsistency in his pitches. He was trying to create too much velocity instead of trusting his natural, normal delivery.''

It took Washburn four starts to get that 16th win finally, and he said he was lucky to get it Tuesday.

``Any time we can pull out a win when I'm that bad, it's a positive,'' he said. ``The bullpen should get that win.''

Or the offense.

Palmeiro's playing time will decrease dramatically once Tim Salmon returns, which could happen in the next couple of days. Since Salmon was injured on Aug. 10, Palmeiro has hit .328 (19 for 58) with 13 RBI, often batting in Salmon's No. 3 spot.

``I know where I fit on this team,'' Palmeiro said. ``(Salmon's) a big-time player and I'm not. My job is to do the little things to keep the team moving and not try to overdo. If I try to fill his shoes, I'm in trouble.''

The Angels broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the third inning off Devil Rays starter Jorge Sosa (1-7), getting consecutive hits by Eckstein (single), Darin Erstad (single), Palmeiro (single) and Garret Anderson (double) with two outs.

Anderson's double was his 50th of the season, becoming the ninth player in the American League since 1980 to do so. No player has reached 60 doubles in a season since two players (Charlie Gehringer, 60, and Joe Medwick, 64) did it in 1936.

The Devil Rays scored single runs off Washburn in the third and fourth innings before the Angels put the game out of reach in the sixth.

Troy Glaus and Scott Spiezio began the inning with walks, followed by consecutive singles from Fullmer, Bengie Molina and Kennedy. Two outs later, Palmeiro cleared the bases with an opposite-field double over Damian Rolls' outstretched glove in left field.

``Anybody in the role I do, this is how you want to perform when you're needed,'' Palmeiro said. ``When somebody's out for a while, hopefully you do enough for the team not to slow down and lose momentum.''

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The Angels' Orlando Palmeiro watches his three-run double during Anaheim's 10-2 win over Tampa Bay.

Scott Martin/Associated Press