RED SOX SPOIL ANGELS' NIGHT STRUGGLING VALDES DONE IN 5TH BOSTON 6, ANGELS 1.

Byline: Gordon Verrell Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - Tranquility is nice, but it isn't necessarily a ticket to the winner's circle, as evidenced by Monday night's exercise at Edison Field.

On a night the Angels rewarded their manager - a fellow who's considered an all-right guy by his players and a quiet, sage tactician by management - with a contract extension, the Boston Red Sox ruined the party.

The Red Sox, who last week sent their skipper packing as a way of restoring some decorum in their unruly clubhouse, threw a considerable haymaker at Anaheim's wild-card hopes, at the same time enhancing their own.

The Red Sox walloped the Angels 6-1 Monday night in front of 22,891, including one fellow who trotted into right field in the top of the eighth inning and dropped his britches.

Hard to qualify that as an inspiration, but at least the Angels got a run in the bottom of the eighth to avoid their 10th shutout of the season.

The Red Sox didn't get anywhere in the American League wild-card race, four games behind red-hot Oakland, but they did separate themselves some from the Angels, who fell seven games back.

``There's still plenty of baseball left,'' insisted Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who wasn't able to fully enjoy his new three-year contract extension. ``You can't point to any one game as a big game.''

The Angels' starter, Ismael Valdes, was ineffective from the outset and was gone one batter into the fifth, his second-swiftest exit all season and quickest in more than two months. Valdes (8-7), who had won three of his previous four decisions, was banged around for eight hits and six runs, the most runs he's allowed in nine starts.

``I don't think he got rattled,'' manager Mike Scioscia said of Valdes, ``he just wasn't executing his pitches. He was a little out of sync.''

Meantime, the Angels were completely throttled by Red Sox right-hander Frank Castillo, who shut out the Angels on five singles over the first seven innings, then handed a 6-0 lead to the bullpen.

``He kept us off balance,'' said Angels center fielder Darin Erstad, who had two of the hits off Castillo. ``He's given us problems before. He mixed his pitches well.''

It wasn't until the seventh that the Angels even managed two runners in the same inning against Castillo (8-7), who retired nine in a row from the third through sixth innings.

Finally, in the eighth, with reliever Todd Erdos on the mound, the Angels averted the embarrassment of another shutout on singles by Bengie Molina and Orlando Palmeiro and a sacrifice fly by David Eckstein.

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Boston's Frank Castillo shut out the Angels on five singles over the first seven innings Monday night.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press