Angel Bats Remain Quiet in 11-2 Loss : Baseball: Palmeiro and Smith hit three-run homers in Oriole victory.

The Angels gave the Baltimore Orioles the silent treatment Friday night--the paid crowd of 26,960 in Anaheim Stadium sat quietly throughout most of the evening, and there was hardly a peep from Angel bats.

In one of their more listless offensive performances of the season, the Angels managed only six hits against Oriole right-hander Scott Erickson, who went the distance in an 11-2 Baltimore victory.

The Orioles rallied for five runs against Angel starter Mark Langston in the third inning, and the Angels missed out on a chance to increase their 8 1/2-game lead in the American League West over Texas, which lost to Kansas City Friday night.

Erickson, acquired from Minnesota on July 7, struck out five, walked just one and used his sinking fastball to induce 17 groundouts. Five of the Angels’ six hits were singles, and two of those baserunners were wiped out on double plays.

By the time Jim Edmonds hit his 30th home run to lead off the ninth, becoming the 11th Angel in club history to hit 30 or more home runs in a season, most fans were heading for the parking lot.

“I think we’ve run into some guys who have pitched well against us,” Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “Except for one little spot in the third inning, we didn’t do much with [Erickson].”

The Orioles did plenty with the Angels’ pitching. First baseman Rafael Palmeiro hit a three-run homer in the third inning, his 29th of the season, and rookie left fielder Mark Smith hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot, to cap Oriole scoring in the ninth.

Center fielder Brady Anderson, a former UC Irvine standout, had three hits and two runs batted in, second baseman Bret Barberie, a former USC star, had three hits and an RBI, and Smith had two singles to go with his homer.

Baltimore’s third inning was reminiscent of Langston’s worst start of this season--and maybe his career--when the left-hander allowed eight runs on six hits in a third of an inning June 4 against New York.

To put the Orioles’ outburst in perspective, five runs was the most Langston had allowed in any of his 22 other games besides the fateful Yankee start. Baltimore also snapped Langston’s string of winning eight consecutive decisions in Anaheim Stadium, dating back to Aug. 3, 1994.

Anderson opened the inning with an infield single but was erased on Jeff Huson’s fielder’s choice. Cal Ripken walked, and Bobby Bonilla doubled to left for one run.

Palmeiro, the first baseman who entered with a career .302 average and 19 homers against the Angels, smashed Langston’s first pitch into the right-field bullpen.

Chris Hoiles walked and Langston struck out Jeff Manto for the second out, but Smith singled to left and Barberie singled to center for a rally capping RBI before Anderson grounded out to end an inning in which Langston gave up five hits, two walks and threw 36 pitches.

Langston, who entered with a 13-2 record, 4.09 earned-run average and an average of 1.8 walks a game, went six innings, allowing eight hits, four walks and striking out four.

The Angels, 3-6 on this home stand, scored in the bottom of the third when Damion Easley singled to left, Greg Myers singled to center, and Jose Lind singled to left, snapping an 0-for-13 slump and giving him his first RBI as an Angel.

The Angels still had two on and none out after Lind’s hit, but the rally died when Tony Phillips struck out, Edmonds bounced into a fielder’s choice and Tim Salmon flied to right.

Though Erickson entered with an 8-1 career record against the Angels, three Angels had .400 or better lifetime averages against the right-hander, and Phillips had hit .351 with four homers against him.

But Erickson opened the game by retiring six consecutive and, outside of the third and ninth innings, the Angels mounted no scoring threats.

By starting and playing Friday night, Baltimore’s Ripken extended his consecutive games streak to 2,120 games, and he needs to play in 11 more to break Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130.

An Oriole official said President Clinton is trying to rearrange his schedule so he can attend the record-breaking game Sept. 6 against the Angels in Baltimore’s Camden Yards. It would be the 12th Presidential visit to an Oriole game since 1979.