Salmon's shot helps Angels stay even with A's

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Same story, different hero for the streaking Anaheim Angels.

This time it was Tim Salmon who hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning and the Angels tied a club record with their 93rd victory, beating the Texas Rangers 8-6 Saturday for their 15th win in 16 games.

"I guess today was my turn. It's real special being down 5-0 and coming back like we did,'' said Salmon, who homered for the first time since Aug. 6 at Chicago. "We've got a club that just never quits and plays hard. I think that's what every guy wants to be a part of.''

The Angels, who have won five straight, remained tied with Oakland for first place in the AL West, while Seattle slipped to nine games off the pace in the wild card race with a 1-0 loss to the Athletics. Anaheim's victory tied the club record set in 1982 when the Angels won the second of their three division titles.

The Angels' 42 comeback wins are tied for first in the AL with the Chicago White Sox.

"They don't panic. They methodically keep playing the game,'' said Mike Scioscia, who won his 250th career game as Anaheim manager. "Our bullpen did a terrific job. We get contributions up and down our lineup. That's why we've been having a much better year offensively.''

Salmon homered over the center-field wall off Todd Van Poppel (3-2) with two outs in the fifth to give the Angels a 7-6 lead. Salmon's 19th homer made up for his at-bat in the third inning when he flied to right with the bases loaded.

"I said if that ball doesn't get out, I'm quitting,'' Salmon said, laughing. "I thought the ball hit to right field, I didn't hit that too bad, day game, let's see where it goes and I'm like dang, it didn't even get to the track. It's been a funny year with home runs for me and for our club.''

Adam Kennedy hit a solo homer with two outs in the eighth to make it 8-6.

Scot Shields (5-3) pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief, struck out two and walked two for the victory. Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his 39th save in 43 opportunities.

"That whole bullpen has been reliable,'' Percival said. "If it wasn't for them, I'd be out there in the eighth a lot more and I wouldn't feel fresh. It's a very resilient bunch. I love watching these guys play.''

Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro hit back-to-back homers and Carl Everett added a two-run shot one out later in the first inning when the Rangers rocked Kevin Appier for five runs.

"When you go up 5-0 in the first, you would think we would win that game. But they battled hard and just kept finding ways to come back,'' Rodriguez said. "The difference I see in the Angels this year from last year is pitching and defense. It always starts and ends with pitching.''

When Anaheim's starters don't get the job done, the bullpen does. It has allowed just three earned runs in its last 47 2/3 innings pitched and has 52 saves, tying the club record set in 1988.

"I'm very impressed,'' Texas manager Jerry Narron said. "I think what's really separated them from their teams of the past is that their middle relievers and their setup guys have been very good.''

After Mike Lamb singled, Rodriguez hit his major league-leading 55th homer to center field to give Texas a 2-0 lead. Rodriguez broke a tie with Mickey Mantle for the eighth-highest home run total in AL history.

Rodriguez needs six homers in Texas' final 14 games to break Roger Maris' AL record.

"It's a very special record, obviously, but I'm not thinking about 61,'' he said. "The minute I start thinking about individual things, then I'm compromising the way I play, and I would never do that.''

Palmeiro followed with a solo shot to right on the next pitch, marking the fifth time this season that Rodriguez and Palmeiro have homered back-to-back.

The Angels made it 5-2 in the second on a two-run homer by Shawn Wooten that scored Garret Anderson, who led off with a double. Anderson left the game in the fifth with a mild right hamstring strain that occurred when he beat out an infield hit to shortstop in the third. He's day-to-day.

Anaheim got within 5-4 in the third on Scott Spiezio's RBI single after Kennedy led off with a walk and Darin Erstad doubled down the right field line.

The Rangers extended their lead to 6-4 on Lamb's sacrifice fly off Dennis Cook in the fourth.

Appier gave up six runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings, struck out four and walked two.

Texas' Dennys Reyes, who has a mild case of strep throat, allowed six runs on 10 hits starting in place of Aaron Myette, who was recently demoted to the bullpen.

Game notes
Rodriguez' homer was his 32nd against Anaheim, the most against any opponent. ... Texas' three homers in the first tied the club record for the third time this season. ... Rodriguez and Palmeiro have homered in the same game 14 times this season. ... The Angels are 30-17 in one-run games, the most in the majors. ... Due to an official scoring change, an error charged to Anaheim 2B Kennedy in Friday's first inning was given to left fielder Anderson for bouncing a throw to second that Kennedy couldn't handle. The error allowed Alex Rodriguez to score.