Angels Get Rare Blowout : Baseball: Leftwich wins as Bavasi watches closely during 10-5 victory over the Yankees.

He sat incognito in the press box Saturday afternoon, wearing dark sunglasses and a colorful shirt, canvassing the events on the field below him.

It was the kind of game Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi had envisioned would occur more often this season. Not that he expects the Angels to beat the New York Yankees, 10-5, every time, but then again, it shouldn’t be so extraordinary when they finally win, either.

“I don’t think any of us thought we’d be at this point,” Bavasi said. “We have no choice now but to view .500 as a target point.

“Unfortunately, considering our record, that may be a lofty target.”

It was a painful admission. Bavasi had believed this team would contend in the American League West and believed it had as much chance as anyone to win it.

Technically, he is still correct.

The Angels are only six games behind the division-leading Texas Rangers.

The trouble is that they also happen to have the worst record in the American League, 37-51, on pace for the worst finish in franchise history.

“We need to get on a streak real quick,” said Angel starter Phil Leftwich (4-7), who won his first game in six weeks. “And for that to happen, it’s going to take a couple of pitchers to get on a roll. We’ve got to give our hitters a chance.”

This is the first time since Leftwich’s last victory on May 27 that his teammates gave him a chance. No pitcher in baseball has been victimized by lower run support, with the Angels averaging 3.43 runs in his 15 starts, including only five runs in his previous four starts.

Leftwich, who sat in awe on the bench watching the pregame ceremonies, introducing the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, might have been more stunned by seeing his teammates finally score runs.

Despite stranding a season-high 14, the Angels overcame a 3-0 deficit by scoring five runs in the fifth inning, three more in the seventh and two in the eighth. The Yankees made four errors, hit four batters, and left the crowd of 42,521 at Yankee Stadium wishing it was still watching the old-timers.

“I was so enthralled by the old-timers’ game that it got me pumped up,” said Leftwich, who talked with former Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson. “Everyone said that when you get to Yankee Stadium, you get a certain feeling.

“I never felt that way until today.

“I’d like to have guys come into town, see that they’re facing (Mark) Langston, (Chuck) Finley and Leftwich, and say, ‘That’s going to be a tough series.’ ”

Leftwich, who gave up four hits and struck out seven in seven innings, is emerging as a solid No. 3 pitcher on the Angel staff. Having taken away any urgency for Bavasi to find another starter, the most pressing concern now might be first baseman J.T. Snow.

Snow, batting .187, found himself in a mild controversy Saturday when Yankee starter Scott Kamienicki accused him of being afraid to swing at pitches. Twice he hit Snow with pitches, the last one forcing in a run in the fifth inning, and ridiculed him afterward.

“He didn’t look like he wanted to swing the bat,” Kamienicki said. “He looked like he wanted to get hit. The way he’s hitting, he should be glad he got an RBI.”

Said Snow: “Did he really say that? Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

The Angels still hope that Snow, who has only nine RBIs, can be the player who batted .343 with six homers and 17 RBIs last April. If he continues to struggle through July, sources say, the Angels strongly will consider bringing up triple-A left fielder Garret Anderson to play first base.

“There are a lot of options right now,” Bavasi said, “and that’s just one of them.

“We’re not done here with this club. There will be changes, and you just try to fix it one piece at a time.”