STATUS QUO MEANS NO STATUS TYPICAL INCONSISTENCY COSTS FADING CHAMPIONS SEATTLE 6, ANGELS 3.

Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer

SEATTLE - Before his team began a four-game series that on one hand was no bigger than another but on the other hand could set the tone for the rest of the summer, Angels general manager Bill Stoneman was musing about his team's maddening lack of consistency.

As if to prove his point, the Angels went out Monday night and provided the sort of tease that has driven their fans crazy all season.

They took a three-run lead in the first inning on the front-running Seattle Mariners, then gave it away and failed to score for the rest of the evening. By night's end, the Mariners were the ones showing the consistency of champions, earning a 6-3 victory at Safeco Field.

The loss pushed the Angels a season-high 11 1/2 games behind the Mariners, who continued to flash the form of their 2001 season, in which they won a league-record 116 games and bested the Angels by 41 games.

Bret Boone and Mike Cameron, weak links in last year's team that finished third in the AL West, continued to awaken the echoes of 2001. Boone had four hits and Cameron touched up the Angels' postseason stars of a year ago for a pair of home runs.

His solo homer off John Lackey (4-6) put Seattle ahead for good in the sixth inning, and his two-run shot off Francisco Rodriguez made it 6-3 entering the top of the ninth.

Monday's loss dropped the Angels to 34-33, regressing toward .500 like they have all season.

``It's something we have to get over,'' Stoneman said of the .500 hump. ``There's something to riding a high. That helps carry you, and that's what we had last year. And that's the one thing we were last year - consistent, especially the starting pitching.''

Monday's starter, Lackey, was among those who shined last season. After a rough start this year, he recently appeared to be turning the corner, lowering his ERA in five of his six previous starts. And he was given a 3-0 lead before climbing the mound Monday, thanks to RBI singles from Garret Anderson and Brad Fullmer and a double by Darin Erstad on which left fielder Randy Winn committed an error, allowing David Eckstein to score.

After Eckstein led off the game by getting hit by a pitch and the Angels quickly posted a 3-0 lead, they again made it seem as though they were ready to turn it around.

``Here we go,'' Eckstein said he was thinking at the time. ``But we need to keep building on it.''

Instead, they allowed Joel Pineiro (6-5) to shut them down. He walked two in the second but got Eckstein and Erstad to fly out. He gave up a one-out double to Anderson in the third, and then really got serious.

Pineiro retired the next 16 batters, with Cameron helping out with a magnificent diving catch of Tim Salmon's flyball in the fifth. Salmon singled with two outs in the eighth, finally ending Pineiro's night after 7 2/3 innings of five-hit ball.

``We got on him early,'' Erstad said, ``and let him off the hook.''

Lackey looked good through three scoreless innings but said he did not feel like he was in rhythm after the first. In the fourth, his discomfort caught up to him.

Boone, who had four hits, led off with a double and scored on Edgar Martinez's single. John Olerud followed with a two-run, game-tying home run, his 2,000th career hit, prompting a standing ovation and curtain call. Lackey stood stoically through the delay, then retired the side.

Problems over?

Not quite. Cameron led off the sixth with a go-ahead home run, the 15th home run Lackey has given up in 85 2/3 innings this season; Lackey gave up 10 homers in 108 1/3 innings last year.

Pineiro and Arthur Rhodes made sure it stood up, Rhodes retiring Anderson to end the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Cameron gave Rhodes two more runs to work with by slamming a Rodriguez pitch well over the scoreboard in left field for a two-run homer.

Rodriguez hadn't given up a run in his previous eight outings.

Gabe Lacques, [phone]

gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) John Lackey fell to 4-6 with the loss to Seattle on Monday and continues to struggle after a strong 2002 season - just like the Angels.

(2) David Eckstein rounds third and goes on to score Monday, but the Angels needed more than that in their loss to Seattle.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press