Orioles Escape the Angels, 8-7 : Baseball: Grand slam by Stevens is wasted as Baltimore scores four runs during the fifth inning.

The Angels scored more runs against Rick Sutcliffe in one inning Friday than Sutcliffe had yielded in his previous three starts combined, but that still wasn’t enough to subdue the Baltimore Orioles.

Intent on staying a half-game behind Toronto in the American League East, Baltimore rallied for four runs during the fifth and held off a late Angel rally to pull out an 8-7 victory before 20,621 at Anaheim Stadium.

Lee Stevens’ fourth-inning grand slam--the Angels’ first grand slam in 14 months--wasn’t enough support for Mark Langston, who gave up six runs in four-plus innings. Single runs by the Orioles during the sixth and seventh enabled them to prevail after Sutcliffe faltered and gave up three runs during the seventh, extending the Orioles’ winning streak to six.

Sutcliffe (15-11) had given up a 430-foot homer, still the second-longest hit at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, to Stevens on May 23.

The grand slam, the first by the Angels since Max Venable hit one against Kansas City’s Mark Gubicza on July 2, 1991, gave the Angels a 4-2 lead. That evaporated in the fifth against Langston (12-12), who left after giving up back-to-back doubles by Mike Devereaux and Glenn Davis.

Sutcliffe, who recorded his first victory at Anaheim Stadium since Aug. 31, 1983, when he was with Cleveland, is 5-0 in his last seven starts.

Todd Frohwirth pitched the last two innings to earn his fourth save.

The Angels scored three times during the seventh to make it close. Sutcliffe hit Chad Curtis with his first pitch--Angel pitchers had hit Chris Hoiles and Joe Orsulak during the previous inning--and gave up singles to Gary DiSarcina and Damion Easley to load the bases. A balk scored pinch-runner Rob Ducey with the Angels’ fifth run, pinch-hitter Ken Oberkfell’s sacrifice fly scored DiSarcina with the sixth and Luis Polonia’s groundout scored Easley with the seventh.

Sutcliffe’s command made him nearly untouchable in the early innings. He worked quickly and smoothly, retiring the first 10 he faced.

Langston was in a similar pattern but lost his rhythm in the third inning, perhaps bothered by the Orioles’ baserunning speed. He probably threw to second a half-dozen times after Brady Anderson’s double and eventually walked the next batter, Randy Milligan. He managed to hold Baltimore to two runs by striking out Davis with runners on first and third.

The Orioles scored those runs with one out. Hoiles and former Angel Mark McLemore sandwiched singles around a strikeout by Orsulak, and Anderson sent both runners home with a slicing double to left. The hit was only the second for Anderson in 21 at-bats against Langston, and it was a good omen for the Orioles, who entered Friday’s game with a 59-29 record in games Anderson either drove in a run or scored a run.

Sutcliffe faltered in the fourth even before he yielded Stevens’ homer. Polonia lined to right for the first out, but Sutcliffe then walked Luis Sojo and gave up a single to right by Junior Felix. Tim Salmon followed with a grounder that shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. backhanded but couldn’t play, loading the bases.

That brought up Stevens, who hit Sutcliffe’s 1-and-1 pitch into the Angels’ bullpen for his seventh homer of the season and second at Anaheim Stadium.

Langston proved unable to hold that lead in the fifth inning.

McLemore led off with a single to center and moved into scoring position when Langston walked Anderson on four pitches. McLemore scored and Anderson took third on Milligan’s single to right.

Devereaux worked the count to 3 and 2 before lining a double to right-center field, scoring Anderson with the tying run and Milligan with the go-ahead run. Langston, who had been behind in the count to every hitter, got an 0-and-2 advantage on Davis, but Davis lined the next pitch into the left-field corner for a double, scoring Milligan with the sixth run.

Hoiles’ leadoff homer during the sixth gave the Orioles a 7-4 lead.