VAUGHN HURT IN VICTORY; ANGELS COME BACK TO DEFEAT INDIANS : ANGELS 6, CLEVELAND 5.

Byline: Joe Haakenson

If it were a movie script, one would think it was written by Stephen King, not the Walt Disney Co. After all, nowhere in a Disney movie does the star attraction get hurt in the opening scene.

But that's what happened to first baseman Mo Vaughn only minutes into his first game as an Angel. Vaughn, who signed a six-year, $80 million contract last November, roamed to the visitors' dugout on the first-base side in an attempt to catch a pop foul hit by the Cleveland Indians' Omar Vizquel, the second batter of the game.

Vaughn reached the edge of the top dugout step, then went one step too far, falling into the dugout and spraining his left ankle. He remained in the game and played five innings of the Angels' 6-5 victory, going 0 for 2.

In typical Disney fashion, the game had a happy ending for the home team. Troy Glaus' two-out double scored Garret Anderson from first base in the eighth inning to give the Angels the 6-5 lead. And Troy Percival, following strong performances by fellow relievers Mark Petkovsek and Mike Holtz (1-0), closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Vaughn, who was scheduled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, was replaced by Jeff Huson to start the top of the sixth so Vaughn could go for precautionary X-rays, which were negative.

Vaughn limped noticeably while he was in the game, and fell at the plate after hitting a fly ball to left field in his first at-bat. But Angels medical director Dr. Lewis Yocum said after Vaughn was taped up ``he felt comfortable enough to continue.

At least for a little while.

Vaughn, who was on crutches in the clubhouse after the game, said the sprain is a ``high ankle sprain,'' and he doesn't know how soon he'll be able to play again.

``Who knows what will happen (today),'' Vaughn said. ``The main thing is nothing was broken and we got a win. I seem to heal pretty fast.''

The ankle is sore and swollen, and even if he can't play for a few days or is limited to a DH role, the Angels say they are fortunate.

``We're really lucky,'' Collins said. ``We've got Jim Edmonds down. We lose Mo for an extended period of time . . . there are only so many body blows you can take.''

Only a team like the Angels can feel lucky when their star player is injured. And considering the final score, the Angels have reason to be happy, thanks to Glaus.

In his eighth-inning at-bat, Glaus drove a fastball from losing pitcher Steve Karsay (0-1) into the left-center field gap, making the Edison Field crowd of 39,936 forget about Vaughn for a moment.

``We can't count on (Vaughn) to carry us all year,'' Glaus said. ``Whatever a person can do to help this team win is what we all have to do.''

``If it's not Mo, then somebody else has to step up,'' Collins said. ``It was Troy tonight. This is a long race. If everybody runs their share of the race, it's much easier.''

Meanwhile, another Angels free-agent acquisition struggled in his debut. Tim Belcher, who signed a two-year, $10.2 million contract, lasted just 4-1/3 innings, giving up five runs and six hits while making 92 pitches.

Back-to-back homers by Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson in the fourth inning off Indians starter Jaret Wright gave Belcher and the Angels a 3-2 lead, but Belcher surrendered the lead in the fifth when the Indians scored three runs on four hits.

With Petkovsek providing three scoreless innings of middle relief, the Angels rallied from their 5-3 deficit with two runs in the seventh. Shortstop Andy Sheets drove in the first run with his second hit of the night, and Darin Erstad's sacrifice fly scored Matt Walbeck (2 for 4) to tie the game, setting the stage for Glaus.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Anaheim's Mo Vaughn falls after popping out in the first inning as Indians catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. looks on.

(2) Cleveland's Omar Vizquel, left, is congratulated by teammate Roberto Alomar after Vizquel's two-run homer in the third inning.

Michael Caulfield/Associated Press