Homers Are Music to Gaetti’s Ears : Angels: He hits two during 7-6 victory over the Indians and hears cheers instead of boos from a crowd of only 17,586.

As he tried to describe the new role he has been given, Gary Gaetti tested a few phrases before he found one he liked.

“Strategic specialist,” he mused. Then he laughed. “Those are just words,” he said.

Although it sounds more suited to a business card than a baseball card, the term fit Gaetti’s performance Tuesday night. After losing his third base job and even his first base spot, Gaetti hit his first two home runs as a designated hitter to support an Angel comeback in a 7-6 victory over the Indians before a season-low crowd of 17,586 at Anaheim Stadium.

Gaetti’s first homer, a two-run shot off Cleveland starter Dennis Cook, gave the Angels a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first and ended the team’s 63-inning home-run drought. His second homer, off Ted Power in the fifth, cut the Angels’ deficit to 6-5. It was his first multi-homer game since May 2, 1990, when he was with the Twins.

Four consecutive singles in the sixth off Eric Plunk (5-3) enabled the Angels to overcome a shaky effort by starter Tim Fortugno, who gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings. Joe Grahe earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities and ended the game with the potential tying run at third.

“It doesn’t always turn out like it did tonight, but this feels good,” said Gaetti, who has become more accustomed to boos than the applause that serenaded him after his four-for-five performance. “I’m glad we won. But the time we really, really needed a hit, I didn’t get it. The time we had a chance to put the game away, I didn’t deliver, so that bothered me.”

Ultimately, that Gaetti didn’t deliver in the sixth didn’t matter because Chuck Crim (7-5) and Grahe held the Indians.

“Hopefully, he found something,” Manager Buck Rodgers said of Gaetti, who hadn’t homered since Aug. 4. “It’s been a couple of years since he’s swung like he can and we all know he can. Tonight, he swung against all kinds of pitchers, right-handers and left-handers. . . .

“No one’s writing Gary Gaetti off.”

He was well rested, Gaetti acknowledged with a self-deprecating laugh, having made only one pinch-hit appearance in the previous five games. But he’s adjusting well to late-game pinch-hit appearances or spot starts as the DH.

“I like it. There’s a lot of pressure in that because you sit for a long time and you see action at the most crucial time of the game,” he said. “I’ve never done it before, but I like it.”