Gaetti Powers Angels Past the Rangers, 4-2 : Baseball: Veteran has four of team’s 11 hits against Texas.

In the October of his career, Gary Gaetti showed there is still some life in his bat.

Gaetti matched his season high by collecting four hits against the Rangers on Saturday night, leading an 11-hit attack as the Angels held off Texas, 4-2, before 29,770 at Anaheim Stadium.

Gaetti, who entered the game hitting .217, had two doubles and two singles and scored a run as the Angels got to Ranger left-hander Dan Smith (0-3). Luis Sojo drove in two runs with two singles and Mike Fitzgerald drove in two with a second-inning home run, his sixth.

“It’s like when you go golfing and you shoot 150, but you hit that last shot real good, so you think, ‘that’ll bring you back tomorrow,’ ” Gaetti said.

Despite the Angels’ support, rookie left-hander Hilly Hathaway couldn’t make it through the minimum five innings to get credit for the victory.

Hathaway, in his second major league appearance and first start, was relieved by Scott Lewis with two out in the fifth. Lewis, Steve Frey and Joe Grahe combined to shut out the Rangers.

Lewis (4-0), who lasted 1 2/3 innings, has pitched 19 consecutive scoreless innings. He credited Frey for his success Saturday, since Frey struck out Jose Canseco with the tying run on third in the seventh inning.

“I was just trying to keep the ball in the infield or get a short fly ball, but with Jose short fly balls don’t exist,” Frey said.

The triumph was the Angels’ ninth this season against the Rangers, the most against any club.

They started things by scoring three runs in the second inning on four consecutive hits.

Gaetti started with an opposite-field double into the right-field corner. He scored on Luis Sojo’s bloop-single to center. Fitzgerald, trying to win a job--or at least a contract--for next season, then worked the count to 3-and-2 before lining the ball off the top of the fence in right-center for a two-run home run, his sixth.

The Rangers successfully chipped away at the Angels’ lead.

Rafael Palmeiro led off the fourth inning with a drive into the right-field seats, his 22nd home run of the season.

In the fifth, CrisColon singled and was running when David Hulse singled through the right side, which allowed him to get to third. Jeff Frye then pulled off a perfect suicide squeeze, scoring Colon and moving Hulse to second.

Hathaway loaded the bases before giving way to Lewis.