Angels Upend Cone, 4-2 : Baseball: Right-hander had been unbeatable at Anaheim until Langston-led effort over Blue Jays.

The Toronto Blue Jays wheeled their David Cone Display Case into Anaheim Stadium on Monday night. The Angels, showing little respect for this prized jewel, shattered the glass and defaced its contents while grabbing a 4-2 victory in front of an announced crowd of 17,848.

Cone, the 1994 Cy Young Award winner who suddenly has found himself on the trading block--with the Angels among his probable suitors--had been virtually untouchable in the Big A, entering with a lifetime 3-0 record and 1.05 earned-run average in Anaheim.

But the Angels roughed up the right-hander during a three-run third, which included Greg Myers’ two-run homer, and added an insurance run in the eighth on Tim Salmon’s RBI fielder’s choice to take over sole possession of first place in the American League West.

Angel starter Mark Langston gave up two runs on six hits and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 7-1, and relievers Troy Percival and Lee Smith restored the luster to the Angel bullpen.

Percival, who had a few shaky outings on the recent road trip, struck out the side in the eighth and Smith, who blew two save opportunities last week--one in Texas and one in Oakland--struck out two of four batters in the ninth to record his 20th save.

“I’ve messed up before and I’ll mess up again,” Smith said. “But you’d like to get some distance between them.”

Angel center fielder Jim Edmonds made a potential game-saving, lunging catch of Joe Carter’s fly to shallow center with runners on first and third to end the seventh and gave Angel fans a scare before catching Paul Molitor’s game-ending liner in the ninth.

With Devon White on first, Edmonds misjudged Molitor’s drive, coming in before stopping, reaching back over his shoulder and leaping high to catch the ball.

Edmonds added an RBI single in the third--his team-leading 47th RBI--and his sacrifice bunt advanced Tony Phillips, who later scored in the eighth.

Cone, a 2-0 loser to the Angels on May 1, went the distance on an eight-hitter and struck out three but fell to 6-5.

“That’s twice Cone has pitched well against us,” Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “But we’ve been fortunate enough to pitch a little better both times.”

Lachemann may not have to worry about Cone--at least in a Blue Jay uniform--for much longer. With Toronto out of contention in the East, General Manager Gord Ash has let it be known that Cone, and a handful of other potential Blue Jay free agents, is available for the right price.

The Angels are in the market for a right-handed starter and if they’re still in the race by the July 31 trading deadline, they will likely enter the bidding for Cone (who has a $5-million salary) and New York Met pitcher Bret Saberhagen, another high-priced right-hander on a non-contending team.

Uncertainty over team ownership could handcuff the Angels, though. They probably won’t pull the trigger on any major deals until the Walt Disney Co. takes over the team, and that process began only three weeks ago with Disney’s review of the Angels.

However, there’s a slim chance Disney could complete its review this month and owners could call a special meeting, or conference call, to approve the partial sale of the team by July 31.

“But you’ve got to make certain you’re going to contend to make a deal like that,” said Tim Mead, Angel assistant general manager. “Right now people are feeling each other out [on possible deals], but things will get serious in the next three weeks.”

Two other roadblocks to a deal: The Angels don’t have an abundance of minor league prospects to offer, and their two right-handed starters, Shawn Boskie and Mike Bielecki, have done credible jobs.

If the Angels can’t acquire a front-line starter, they’ll likely go after a strong middle reliever, preferably a left-hander, who can help bridge the gap between starters and the closing tandem of Percival and Smith.

“I don’t want to get into that,” Cone said of the trade rumors. “It’s not professional, and it wouldn’t be fair to my teammates. Whatever happens, happens.”