SOCKED IN THE THIRD BOSTON'S 8-RUN INNING SINKS ANGELS BOSTON 8, ANGELS 5.

Byline: Gordon Verrell Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - In what is supposed to be a feverish pennant race, the Angels' bullpen is getting a good deal more time lately than the starters, never a good sign.

Worse yet, the bullpen has done a far better job.

Starter Scott Schoeneweis labored through a worse fate Tuesday night than the one which befell Ismael Valdes, who failed to last five innings Monday night. Schoeneweis couldn't make it through three.

The Boston Red Sox paraded 11 batters to the plate in the third inning and eight scored - the biggest single inning against the Angels all season - then held on for an 8-5 win before an Edison Field crowd of 24,402, which pushed season attendance over the 1.5 million plateau.

The Angels sprung to life in the ninth inning, when David Eckstein crushed a three-run homer off of reliever Bill Pulsipher.

But they'd already dug far too big a hole. The Angels have dropped three of their last four at home, including two in a row to start the homestand.

There's little question where the trouble is.

So far in the series, Angels' starters have allowed 14 runs on 15 hits in 6 2/3 innings; the relievers, eight, have allowed no runs on four hits in 11 1/3 innings.

The Angels were held smartly in check by the Red Sox' wily veteran, David Cone (8-2), who threw for seven strong innings, matching his longest start of the season. He gave up just two runs on six hits. He's lost just once since May 23.

Cone's lone only mistake was allowing Tim Salmon to crack atwo-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning.

Compared to the Red Sox' third-inning explosion, it was barely a blip.

Schoeneweis took it on the chin for all eight runs, four of which trotted home on Doug Mirabelli's first career grand slam.

Before the game, Boston manager Joe Kerrigan, recalling the gem Schoeneweis pitched against the Red Sox three weeks ago at Fenway Park - two runs on five hits in 7 2/3 innings, a 4-2 Anaheim win - saluted the Angels' left-hander, saying, ``This guy's tough. We can't sit back and wait for a three-run homer.''

Schoeneweis sailed through the first two innings. But in the third the first seven batters reached base. There was a walk, three consecutive singles, a hit batter, then two more singles.

Schoeneweis didn't get the necessary help from the Angels' usually reliable defense, third-best in the American League. Eckstein had Mike Lansing's liner glance off his glove at shortstop. And second baseman Adam Kennedy failed to handle Dante Bichette's sinking liner. Both went for base hits and both eventually scored.

Despite the mess - four runs in, the bases loaded and nobody out - Schoeneweis nearly got out of it in decent shape.

He struck out Jose Offerman, got Troy O'Leary to fly out to shallow center and then worked a 3-2 count on Mirabelli after falling behind 3-0. The next pitch, though, was a drive into the bullpen in left field, and Schoeneweis' night was finished.

His 2 2/3 innings matched his earliest exit of the season, June 29, when he was shelled for nine runs on 11 hits in a 9-5 loss to Seattle. Schoeneweis had righted the ship since then, winning four consecutive decisions, his earned run average a mere 2.97 over his previous four starts.

Those performances, as well as the work lately by Ramon Ortiz and Jarrod Washburn, had prompted manager Mike Scioscia to compare his trio of emerging young stars to Oakland's youthful staff.

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Angels starter Scott Schoenweis walks off the mound after giving up a grand slam to Doug Mirabelli.

Kim D. Johnson/Associated Press