Angels Get Look at Their Future : Baseball: Butcher wins, Fortugno saves 9-5 victory over the Yankees. Salmon is 0 for 4 in debut.

In a season of disappointment, the seven rookies who were in the Angels’ lineup at one time or another Friday offered hope for the future.

Rookie reliever Mike Butcher pitched 1 2/3 innings to earn his first major league victory, and rookie Tim Fortugno pitched 2 2/3 strong innings to earn his first major league save. And, although the most heralded rookie of all, right fielder Tim Salmon, was 0 for 4 in his debut, the rookies’ collective performance in the Angels’ 9-5 victory over the Yankees lifted teammates’ spirits.

“It was nice to see so many young guys out there,” said shortstop Gary DiSarcina, whose ninth-inning double drove in the Angels’ eighth run.

“Once these guys get some quality experience and get some success, they’ll get some confidence to take into the winter and into spring training. If you know there’s a job opening, you can come in really prepared, and you won’t have to worry about settling positions. You can just think about building a winning mentality, instead of competing for jobs.”

Rookie third baseman Damion Easley had a cheering section of 17 among the 22,631 at Yankee Stadium, and he didn’t disappoint. The Bronx native contributed two hits and a run batted in and made an acrobatic stab of a fifth-inning drive by Randy Velarde that was headed down the left-field line.

The only rookie who fell short was Julio Valera, who couldn’t hold a 6-0 lead the Angels built against Shawn Hillegas (1-8) and was taken out after 4 2/3 innings.

Valera gave up a run in the fourth inning and four in the fifth--including a two-run home run by Don Mattingly that Salmon might have caught with a better-timed leap--before interim Manager John Wathan went to the bullpen. Butcher and Fortugno responded to the challenge.

“It was a good night for the young guys--one medium-young guy and one old-young guy,” Wathan said, referring to Butcher, 27, and Fortugno, 30. “I hope this is a glimpse of the future from all these guys. I hope they can hang around a long time, and I think they can if they perform as well as they did tonight. It’s fun working with kids because of the enthusiasm they have when they get to the big leagues.”

Butcher acknowledged his emotions were high when he was called in to protect the 6-5 lead with runners on first and second. “I was so locked in tonight and really pumped up--more emotional than in the past,” said Butcher, who was recalled from triple-A Edmonton on July 4.

“I always dreamed about pitching in Yankee Stadium since I was a kid. My dad is from Atlantic City, N.J., and he’s a Yankee fan, so I grew up a big Yankee fan. I’m really glad to get the win here. There’s so much history here.”

Hillegas was history after 3 2/3 innings. The first three Angels’ hitters--Luis Polonia, Luis Sojo and Junior Felix--accounted for seven hits and four RBIs against him, and Polonia stole home on the front end of a double steal with Sojo in the fourth inning. The steal of home was Polonia’s second this season, making him the first Angel to do that since Gary Pettis in 1985.

Polonia, Sojo and Felix overall produced eight of the Angels’ 14 hits and four RBIs.

“It was an exciting moment for all the kids,” Sojo said. “Easley does a good job, and I think Tim Salmon is going to explode. I saw him in Edmonton, and he can play.”

Although the Yankees played catch up against Valera, they never pulled even. The Angels’ three-run ninth inning, which included Gary Gaetti’s double off the right leg of Yankee reliever Greg Cadaret, ensured the evening would be a happy one for the Angel rookies.

“We’re all up here for a reason, and that’s because we can play,” Butcher said. “With Salmon out there, Chad (Curtis), Fortugno, DiSarcina, Joe Grahe (who’s not technically a rookie), we’ll do well. I feel comfortable out there with those guys.”