Angels Beat Heat, Chicago : Baseball: Langston sweats out his 12th victory of the season in a 7-3 decision over the White Sox.

Perspiration ran down Mark Langston’s left arm like a raging river Tuesday night at Comiskey Park.

Langston’s jersey was soaked early in the game, so he changed to a dry one after the sixth inning, and by the time he began the eighth, he was wet again.

In the end, neither heat nor humidity nor Chicago White Sox hitters could prevent Langston from earning his team-high 12th victory in a 7-3 decision before an announced crowd of 21,544.

He used rosin, which he said he usually doesn’t need, to keep his grip. It didn’t work, but except for Frank Thomas, the White Sox couldn’t take advantage.

“I’ve never sweated so much in my life,” said Langston, who pitched 7 2/3 innings in improving to 12-2. “Even with rosin, I couldn’t dam it up.”

Thomas continued his long-running domination of Langston, driving in all three Chicago runs with a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly. Thomas also singled and doubled, bettering his career totals against Langston to 17 for 40 (.425) with five homers.

“You’re asking the wrong guy,” Langston said when quizzed about Thomas’ good fortune against him. “He’s a very disciplined hitter. He doesn’t swing at any bad pitches. Every time I make a mistake he jumps all over it.

“One of these days, I’ll try to sit down and figure him out. I think I need a forkball.”

Langston laughed, a reaction made possible by his teammates’ continued heavy hitting. Tuesday’s victory gave the Angels an 8-0 record against the White Sox this season.

Tim Salmon singled, doubled and drove in three runs. J.T. Snow singled three times, driving in two runs. Damion Easley, who has the worst average among Angel starters at .221, singled twice and scored.

Garret Anderson singled and extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Jose Lind doubled, ending an 0-for-12 drought.

“We’ve got eight or nine guys in our lineup who can carry us,” Salmon said. “It’s kind of the same old story. Somebody else is always picking us up.”

Tuesday seemed like a typical group effort. However, Manager Marcel Lachemann called Langston and Salmon two of the Angels’ most dependable players.

“[Langston] has been very, very consistent,” Lachemann said. “When you consider all the innings he’s given us, he’s been the most consistent [starter]. He’s given us solid outing after solid outing.

“I think [Salmon] has held it together for us by being so successful. Everybody’s gone through ups and downs, but he’s always been there for us.”

Langston, who pitched into the seventh inning for the 11th time in his last 13 starts, said it doesn’t get any better than throwing for a team that pounds out more than six runs and 11 hits per game.

“The success I’ve had this year has been because the team has really picked me up,” Langston said. “I’ve just been blessed this year, there’s no doubt about it.”

The Angels have the second-best team batting average in the American League and lead the majors in scoring. Their defense has been sound, their bullpen almost unhittable.

Troy Percival pitched a flawless 1 1/3 innings Tuesday for his third save.

“As a pitcher you couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Langston said. “Everything it takes to win, we’re doing. To be successful, there’s got to be a lot of things going right and a lot of things are going right for us.”

First, the Angels shrugged off Thomas’ potential haymakers, rallying from a 2-0 deficit after the first inning.

Second, they pushed Chicago starter Rod Bolton (0-1) and reliever Scott Radinsky around. Bolton lasted six innings, giving up six runs (three earned) and nine hits, before Radinsky replaced him. The Angels got their final run on Snow’s single in the seventh against Radinsky.

Bill Simas, part of the four-player package the Angels sent to Chicago for Jim Abbott last month, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth in his major league debut.

Simas was the 12th player to make his big league debut with the White Sox this season, the most for them since 16 saw their first action in the majors in 1949. It’s a good indication why Chicago is 24 1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central.