RODRIGUEZ HURT IN ANGELS WIN ANGELS 6, TEXAS 5.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ARLINGTON, Tex. - In a sense, Mo Vaughn passed the baton to Ivan Rodriguez, one former MVP to another. Only Vaughn did it with such force that Rodriguez will miss the rest of the 2000 season.

Rodriguez, the 1999 American League MVP and nine-time All-Star catcher, suffered a broken bone in his right thumb and will have surgery today. His right hand hit Vaughn's bat during the follow-through of a throw to second base in the first inning of the Angels' bizarre 6-5, 12-inning win Monday night before 33,201 at The Ballpark in Arlington.

As Kevin Stocker tried to steal second, Vaughn swung and missed at strike three. And, as he often does, Vaughn fell toward the plate during the follow-through of his swing, leading to the contact with Rodriguez's hand. The break - at the base of the first metacarpal bone - was discovered by X-rays.

``As soon as I hit it, my finger went numb,'' Rodriguez said. ``I didn't feel anything and it started to swell up. From that moment I just knew it was broken.

``That's what happens when a team's not going good,'' Rodriguez added. ``Bad things happen. What can you do but get ready for spring training next year.''

What happened with Rodriguez might have been a freak play, but it was nothing compared to the strange 10th inning.

The Angels were one strike away from losing in the ninth when Scott Spiezio hit a two-run homer off Rangers closer John Wetteland to tie it at 5. But in the 10th, the Rangers were in good position to win it, putting runners on second and third with one out.

Left fielder Darin Erstad was brought in to form a five-man infield, playing on the second baseman's side of second base.

With the count 1-1 to Gabe Kapler, home-plate umpire Gerry Davis called a balk on Angels pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Scarborough Green raced in from third and the Rangers celebrated a victory.

But the normally mild-mannered Hasegawa argued vehemently. Angels manager Mike Scioscia stormed out of the dugout to argue, too, and soon after the four umpires talked it over. After a few minutes, the umpires waved both teams back on the field and reversed the balk call.

Kapler then popped out to the catcher, Erstad moved back to left field, and after an intentional walk to Mike Lamb, Hasegawa got Royce Clayton on a fly to center for the third out.

Hasegawa (7-2) got the win with three scoreless innings. Tim Salmon's two-out RBI single in the 12th scored Adam Kennedy with what turned out to be the game-winner.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo: (1) JACKSON

(2) GLAUS

(3) ANDERSON

Box: Chasing Reggie