Rangers Stymie Abbott : Baseball: Angel left-hander finishes game but loses, 5-2, after giving up a three-run home run in the first inning.

In many of his starts this season, Jim Abbott has pitched well only to be shortchanged by the Angels’ offense.

That changed Monday night, but not for the better. Abbott gave up a season-high 13 hits, including a three-run home run to Texas outfielder Juan Gonzalez in the first inning, as the Rangers rolled to a 5-2 victory that ended the Angels’ four-game winning streak.

Pitching before a season-low crowd of 19,127 at Anaheim Stadium, Abbott (2-9) gave up hits to each of the first three batters he faced and four overall in the first inning.

That didn’t bode well for Abbott because he is usually formidable in the early innings and because the Angels had averaged only two runs per game in his previous 13 starts.

They produced that quota again Monday night against Todd Burns (1-0), but the Rangers’ five runs exceeded most opponents’ production against Abbott. The left-hander entered the game with an earned-run average of 3.09.

Abbott, who has one victory in his last 12 starts, settled down after the Rangers’ three-run first, but that was too late.

He gave up a run in the fourth on a single by Julio Franco and a double by rookie Russ McGinnis and another in the eighth.

Brian Downing led off the eighth with a double, took third on Gonzalez’s single and scored when Angel second baseman Luis Sojo double-clutched on a potential double-play grounder and threw to first too late to get John Cangelosi.

Abbott recorded his third complete game of the season, but all three have been losses. His last complete-game victory was last Oct. 4.

The Angels scored both of their runs in the second inning, helped by two errors.

Burns gave up only two singles the rest of the way, and Jeff Russell pitched a hitless ninth to clinch the victory that ended Texas’ three-game losing streak and gave him his 17th save of the year and 100th of his career. Burns’ triumph was his first since last July 14, against Baltimore.

To open the game, Downing, the former Angel who was greeted with a round of applause from the fans, stroked Abbott’s second pitch to left for a single. Dean Palmer bounced a single through the left side for his third hit in nine career at-bats against Abbott, and Gonzalez slammed a 2-and-1 pitch deep into the left-field seats for his team-leading 15th home run. In his last 17 games, Gonzalez has 10 home runs.

Rafael Palmeiro also singled before Abbott ended the inning by getting McGinnis to ground into a force play.

Until Monday, Abbott had held opponents to a .174 average in the first inning of his starts and a .230 average through the first six innings. After six innings, however, opponents were hitting .375 against him.

In the second, Burns walked Hubie Brooks to start the inning and got Lee Stevens to fly to left. Rene Gonzales followed with a bouncer to third that was bobbled by Palmer for his 11th error in 63 games. Gary Gaetti was credited with a hit when Palmer couldn’t handle his high chopper, loading the bases.

John Orton hit a bouncer to short that was fumbled by Dickie Thon, for the Rangers’ major league-leading 65th error and the first Angel run.

Luis Sojo, who drove in four runs Sunday, drove in another run with a bloop single to center, which scored Gonzales.

The inning might have been even more productive, but Luis Polonia hit a shot back to the mound that Burns turned into the first half of a double play when he threw home for the force on Gaetti. Catcher McGinnis completed the play with a throw to first to get Polonia.

Abbott’s difficulties increased in the fourth inning, when the Rangers increased their lead to 4-2.

Franco, the defending AL batting champion who had been two for 18 since being activated off the disabled list, improved that average with a single to right.

He took second on Rafael Palmeiro’s grounder to first and scored when McGinnis doubled down the right-field line. The hit was the first in 11 at-bats for McGinnis, a rookie who was promoted from triple-A Oklahoma City June 3.