Angels Still Look Like Contenders : Baseball: Nine-run second inning helps beat Yankees, 15-2, for a three-game sweep.

It has to end eventually. Baseball logic dictates that, at some point, the Angels will stop impersonating the Big Red Machine, their fourth and fifth starters will fall out of the Cy Young Award race, a reliever will blow a save, a line drive will veer foul instead of hitting the chalk, and a long fly ball will wind up on the warning track instead of in the bleachers.

It did not end Thursday night, though. The Angels battered the New York Yankees, 15-2, before 17,210 in Anaheim Stadium to run their winning streak to seven and improve to 18-9, equaling their best start in club history, previously established in 1970 and ’78.

J.T. Snow capped a nine-run second inning with a grand slam, Chili Davis added a two-run blast in the fifth that traveled an estimated 439 feet, and Tim Salmon had a two-run homer in the seventh as the Angels went nine games over the .500 mark for the first time since July 5, 1991.

Not only did a team that many predicted would finish last in the American League West sweep the Yankees, considered the league’s top team, the Angels power-vacuumed them right out of the Big A, outscoring them, 28-3, in three games.

The Angels enter this weekend’s series against East-leading Boston with the league’s best winning percentage, and their 13-run victory Thursday was the largest margin of defeat over the Yankees in Angel history, topping their 12-0 victory over New York on Aug. 27, 1988.

The Angels are also 6-0 since the Walt Disney Co. announced May 18 that it was purchasing a minority share of the team, and the way the Angels are playing, you begin to wonder: Where does Fantasyland end and Tomorrowland begin?

Is this just a streak where everything is going right for the Angels? Or are they legitimate pennant contenders, able to hang with the top teams in the league?

“There’s no reason they can’t compete with everyone,” Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly said. “They showed that this week, and they should show that during the course of the year.

“They have some good arms, they play great defense, and they have a nice mixture of veterans and young guys. But the thing with them is their young guys have three years under their belts, so they have some experience. They’re starting to go to the next level.”

It’s hard to imagine the Angels ascending to a higher plane than the one they were on Thursday night. They got great pitching--Mark Langston allowed only two runs on four hits in six innings to improve to 3-0, and Ken Edenfield, Mitch Williams and Troy Percival each pitched scoreless innings in relief.

They pounded five Yankee pitchers, including starter Melido Perez, for 12 hits. In his last six starts against the Angels, Perez is 0-4 and has allowed 27 earned runs in 34 1/3 innings.

Every Angel starter had at least one hit, and their three homers brought to 36 the number of home runs they have hit in May. They also played an errorless game, to boot.

“When good things happen you don’t question why or how, you just ride it,” said Davis, who has an 11-game hitting streak.

Langston, who has been the subject of persistent trade rumors, mainly involving the Yankees, says the Angels have all the ingredients to contend in the West--and beyond.

“It seems like every night someone picks us up,” Langston said. “Hitting is contagious, and I can’t say enough about the defense. I really hope I stay here because I feel this team can be competitive throughout the season, and I want to be part of it.”

* SUCCESSFUL SWITCH

After a lineup change, the middle of the Angels’ order is no longer just a Chili place. C6