An Inside Job for Polonia : Baseball: He hits inside-the-park grand slam in 9-5 victory. Davis has three-run homer and White adds a two-run shot.

Luis Polonia would like to wear New York Yankee pinstripes again someday, “when I get myself a name.”

In the meantime, he’s trying to make his name beating the Yankees and Oakland Athletics, the teams that have traded him.

“I got heartbroken by the Yankees and A’s. I get on fire every time I face them,” said Polonia, who was acquired from the Yankees on April 29 for Rich Monteleone and Claudell Washington. “I feel like I want to do so much. My heart is burning.”

It was the Yankees who got burned Tuesday night when Polonia hit the 74th inside-the-park grand slam in modern major league history and second in the Angels’ history to help the Angels defeat Polonia’s former Yankee teammates, 9-5, at Anaheim Stadium.

Using a bat borrowed from injured teammate Wally Joyner, Polonia went three for four, grounding into a double play in his final at-bat and missing only a triple in his attempt to hit for the cycle. He admitted he was trying for that triple.

“If I hit a home run then I was going to stop at third. I knew my knee might get broken, but I wanted to get it,” said Polonia, whose second-inning homer off Yankee starter Tim Leary (6-15) bounced past right fielder Jesse Barfield and rolled to the fence in front of the right-field bullpen.

“I want to show the Oakland A’s and New York Yankees they made a mistake. Even though the A’s say they didn’t get hurt because they got Rickey Henderson, for two years always, for them, their big trouble is me. I want to give them some trouble so they regret (the trade). They might not regret it now, but I’m pretty sure the Yankees will. They’re not a team that can say, ‘Who cares, we have seven or eight guys hitting over .300.’

“Right now, I don’t want to go back there. This is my home now. Someday in the future when I have a name and I can go there and nobody can mess around with me, then I want to go back. Right now, I like the way they treat me here. The only thing is, next year I hope to be an everyday player. Right now, I’m not satisfied with playing just against right-handers. I don’t see why I don’t play every day. But I just have to hang in and shut my mouth.”

That could be difficult for the irrepressible outfielder, who got a roaring ovation from the crowd of 27,937, which put the Angels over 2 million in attendance for the ninth consecutive year. “He’s the greatest,” Manager Doug Rader said. “He is an exciting little son of a gun.”

The game became more exciting than Rader might have wished in the fourth inning, when the Yankees pulled even, at 4-4. Angel starter Jim Abbott, who awoke Tuesday with a sore throat and rash, lasted only 5 2/3 innings but that was enough for him to improve his record to 8-10.

The suggestion that his rash was an allergic reaction to being the beneficiary of so much offensive support got a laugh out of Abbott. “I hope not,” said Abbott, who spent much of Monday night itching and not sleeping. “I don’t know if I want to break out like that all the time.”

The Angels broke open the game with some home runs in the fifth to help put away the triumph, their fifth in seventh games. Chili Davis’ three-run homer to right-center and Devon White’s two-run shot to left proved enough for the Angels to subdue the Yankees and for Polonia to enjoy his moment.

It was an unlikely moment, to be sure. Lee Stevens led off the second by missing a third strike, but the pitch was wild and he reached first. Lance Parrish was hit by a pitch and White sacrificed both runners. Kent Anderson’s strikeout would normally have ended the inning, but, as Abbott said, “It was a weird game.”

Polonia never hesitated after he lined Leary’s 0-and-2 fastball.

“As soon as he (Barfield) went down I wasn’t going to stop,” he said. “I knew I had a chance because at the point he went down, I was touching first base. I never had one. I always wanted to have one. I don’t remember hitting a grand slam even in Little League.

“To hit the ball out of the ballpark, I don’t think that’s fun at all. Inside the park, you’ve got to bust your butt. I prefer this all the time.”

Angel Notes

As expected, left-hander Bob McClure was activated off the disabled list and infielder Rick Schu was optioned to triple-A Edmonton. “I’m anxious but not nervous,” said McClure, whose last regular-season appearance was Sept. 29, 1989, against the Texas Rangers. “I’ve had plenty of rest.” . . . Infielder Mark McLemore was to finish his six-game rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Palm Springs Tuesday and rejoin the Angels today. However, he remains on the disabled list and can stay there until his future is determined. He would have to clear waivers if he were optioned to Edmonton.

Angel General Manager Mike Port said the Yankees have paid the Angels the fine assessed against them by Commissioner Fay Vincent to sanction Yankee owner George Steinbrenner’s interference in the May 11 Mike Witt-Dave Winfield trade. The Yankees were ordered to pay the Angels $200,000 and a central baseball fund $25,000. “Our financial people tell me it’s all squared away,” Port said. . . . Witt, still unwilling to discuss his Angel days, said he and his arm are fine. “The fans and the media are treating me all right,” he said.

Wally Joyner’s fractured kneecap has improved in the past two weeks and he has begun a light exercise program. He expects to return before the season ends, “but for how many days or weeks, I don’t know.” He went on the DL July 16. . . . Lance Parrish made his 1,500th appearance behind the plate and is 80 appearances short of the top 15 in games played at his position. “It means I’m old,” said Parrish, who made his debut with Detroit against Baltimore on Sept. 1, 1977. “But I believe I have a few more to go.”

X-rays on Bert Blyleven’s right shoulder were normal and he will throw on the side today, but his next start has been postponed until Tuesday. Kirk McCaskill, who received an injection in his right elbow Tuesday, will pitch Saturday, followed by Jim Abbott and Mark Langston. . . . Brian Downing’s longstanding ribcage muscle problem flared up and he wasn’t in Tuesday’s lineup. . . . Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly is having his ailing back treated in Los Angeles by Dr. Robert Watkins. He didn’t attend the first two games of this series.