NOTHING GAINED AGAIN BY TREADING WATER, ANGELS KEEP LOSING GROUND TO THE A'S CHICAGO WHITE SOX 3, ANGELS 2.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- This copycat syndrome that has developed has left the Angels chasing their own tail.

On days the Oakland Athletics win, so do the Angels. On days the A's lose, the Angels follow suit.

And so it happened again Monday that an A's defeat at Minnesota was followed a few hours later by the completion of the Angels' 3-2 defeat to the Chicago White Sox.

Since the Angels cut Oakland's lead to 5 1/2 games on Sept. 5, the Angels have won four times and so have the A's. Monday was the second time over the past week the Angels lost on the same day as their American League West rival.

Like being on the down escalator, the Angels are getting further from the top just by standing still. While their deficit in the standings hasn't increased, they are running out of days to cut into the Oakland lead.

``When you're behind, I don't know if time is ever an ally, but whether it's a sense of urgency, I think we've had that since May when we were 11 games under .500,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``That's what got us back to where we are now. If we play well we'll still have our opportunity.''

The Angels have just 18 games remaining, nine at home and nine on the road. They play the A's seven times over the last 10 days, a scenario that finally guarantees the standings will move one way or another.

``You just can't keep relying on those,'' Adam Kennedy said. ``You're going to have to take advantage when opportunities are given to you. We haven't done that the last couple times they have lost. You have to keep trying to get after it.''

John Lackey pitched well, he was just undone by one bad inning. A walk to Jim Thome to open the fifth inning started all his trouble. Paul Konerko followed with a single to right field, the first White Sox hit of the game.

A.J. Pierzynski, among the more disliked opponents in these parts, followed a round of boos with a double to right-center field to bring home Thome. Konerko scored on a single by Joe Crede.

The White Sox made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly to right field by Rob Mackowiak.

Almost like it never happened, Lackey returned to his dominating form. A double-play grounder got him out of the fifth inning and was part of a run where he retired 10 consecutive batters, the last five by strikeout.

Juan Uribe snapped the run with a bloop double to left field that nearly was caught by Juan Rivera, who was shaken up on the play but remained in the game.

Lackey (11-10) gave up his three runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

The Angels mustered their only real scoring threat in the sixth inning when Chone Figgins led off with a triple. Maicer Izturis followed with an RBI single, and the Angels were barely heard from again.

It was the first time in the game the Angels didn't make outs with their first two batters of an inning.

``That's key for us because we aren't a team that's off the charts with slugging percentage,'' Scioscia said. ``For us not to get one of the two guys on, preferably the leadoff guy on, it's going to be tough. We didn't pressure them enough.''

Like Lackey, White Sox starter Jose Contreras started strong, got scored upon and then regained his form. Contreras retired 13 of 14 batters at one point, a run that ended with Figgins' triple.

After Izturis' RBI single, Contreras gave up just one more hit until he was removed after the eighth inning. Contreras (13-7) gave up his one run on six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

It was shades of his performance in the deciding Game 5 of last season's American League Championship Series. The White Sox right-hander gave up three runs on five hits in a complete game victory, the fourth consecutive complete game by White Sox pitchers.

The Angels managed a late rally against struggling White Sox closer Bobby Jenks but if failed to yield enough. Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson led off the ninth with hits before Juan Rivera hit into a double play to cut the White Sox's lead to a run.

Jenks got Howie Kendrick on a strikeout for his 40th save. Jenks, who blew the save in his last two outings, had given up hits to six consecutive batters when Anderson singled.

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Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, left, steps on first base and completes a double play.

Francis Specker/Associated Press

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ANGELS vs. CHICAGO WHITE SOX

- Doug Padilla