Sands of Time Stop Angel Skid : Baseball: But victory is no stroll on the beach as the Indians rally in the ninth before losing, 7-6, in 11 innings.

Buck Rodgers went for a walk on the beach the other day, hoping the soothing sights and sounds of the Pacific Ocean would allow him to forget the Angels’ miseries for a few hours.

Out on the jetty at the Corona del Mar State Beach, a man recognized Rodgers, who was staring into the horizon. “Don’t jump, Buck,” the man said.

Rodgers roared with laughter.

Nothing could be that bad, could it?

The Angels’ six-game losing streak finally ended thanks to Matt Young, who walked Torey Lovullo with the bases loaded, forcing home the winning run in the 11th inning of the Angels’ 7-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians before 52,329 at Anaheim Stadium on Sunday night.

“We hated to go extra innings,” Rodgers said. “We should have won it in nine innings, but we won it.”

Angel starter Mark Langston had a four-run lead, saw it cut to one run, saw it grow back to three runs, left the game and watched the bullpen turn a sure victory into a unsightly mess that brought to mind Langston’s last start, Tuesday at Oakland.

Against the Athletics, Langston had a four-run lead, saw it cut to one run, left the game and watched the bullpen come unraveled in an 8-7, 11-inning loss.

Cleveland reliever Matt Young (1-6) was what the Angels needed to pull Sunday’s game out for their first victory since Chuck Finley threw a three-hitter against the Minnesota Twins on June 26.

Three runs batted in by shortstop Gary DiSarcina and three hits and several outstanding defensive plays by Damion Easley, who came off the disabled list to play third base on Sunday, helped the Angels win.

“Damion looked ready to go,” Rodgers said. “He was on it from the first at-bat.”

Said Langston: “I think he’s such a talented player. I really enjoy having him behind me.”

But such efforts appeared wasted in a three-run Cleveland ninth as reliever Steve Frey couldn’t hold a 6-3 lead. Run-scoring singles by Alvaro Espinoza, Felix Fermin and Junior Ortiz sent the game into extra innings.

“I would have been the most surprised guy if Mark Langston had gone out and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth,” Rodgers said.

Langston left after giving up consecutive singles to Carlos Martinez and Glenallen Hill.

Cleveland’s bullpen held the Angels scoreless until Young came in to start the 11th.

He gave up an infield single to Luis Polonia, and Chad Curtis sacrificed Polonia to second. Young hit Tim Salmon with a pitch, then gave up a single to Stan Javier, loading the bases.

With the crowd roaring, Lovullo walked and Polonia scored the winning run.

“We don’t play easy ones,” Rodgers said.

Early on, the Angels looked like they would turn the game into a rout, going ahead, 4-0, after two innings. But by the ninth, they were back in familiar territory, letting a lead slip away for the fifth time in six games.

There was no reason to think that four runs wouldn’t be enough for Langston. Or that the Angels wouldn’t come up with more against starter Cliff Young.

Cliff Young was once an Angel, pitching 28 games for the club in 1990 and 1991. Cleveland signed him as a free agent last November and he was making his fourth start this season, his first against his former club.

The Angels’ Chili Davis hit a two-run homer in the first inning and DiSarcina and Polonia had RBI singles in the second.