Changing of Places in Seattle : Angels: Crucial two-game series at Kingdome pits once-hot California against red-hot Mariners.

The Angels will look across the Kingdome this afternoon and see a reflection of their former selves, a 2-month-old image that no longer fits them but looks quite dashing in a Seattle Mariner uniform.

Talk about a stylish September! The Mariners have won 16 of 22 games on their meteoric rise in the American League West, swinging from 13 games behind the Angels on July 31 to two games ahead of them today, and they are on the verge of introducing a new fall line--playoff games--to the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle has made its postseason push in dramatic fashion, coming from behind in nine of its last 13 wins and thrilling fans with victories in its final at-bat, including Sunday’s heart-stopping, 9-8 knockout of Oakland on Tino Martinez’s two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

The locals are calling it “The Miracle on King Street.” The newspapers refer to the Mariners as “The Amazin’ M’s.”

There’s a magical feeling in the Seattle clubhouse, one that center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. summed up by saying, “No matter what the score is, we’ve got a chance to win it.”

Sound familiar? The Angels, who hope to keep their playoff hopes alive in a two-game series against Seattle beginning today, were saying the same things after the All-Star break, when they won 17 of 20 games to pull away from the pack.

The Mariners have used a similar pattern to catch--and pass--the Angels. They’ve had outstanding performances from proven players such as Griffey, pitcher Randy Johnson, designated hitter Edgar Martinez and right fielder Jay Buhner.

But like the Angels, who rode the hot bats of unknowns such as Jim Edmonds, Garret Anderson and Gary DiSarcina into first place, the Mariners have been getting production from previously untapped sources, such as first baseman Tino Martinez, catcher Dan Wilson, shortstop Luis Sojo, third baseman Mike Blowers and second baseman Joey Cora.

And, like the Angels after the All-Star break, the Mariners have all caught fire at the same time, an act of spontaneous combustion that has lighted a blaze under Seattle, which had witnessed 18 consecutive meaningless baseball Septembers until this month.

Kingdome crowds hovered around the 17,000 mark for most of this season, but the Mariners attracted 152,803 fans for three weekend games against the Athletics, the most in franchise history for a three-game series.

The energy--and decibel--level in the Kingdome should remain high today and Wednesday, with crowds of 40,000-45,000 expected for the Angel series. That won’t make it any easier for pitcher Shawn Boskie and the Angels, who are hoping to carry the momentum of Sunday’s 5-0 victory over Texas into Seattle.

“It’s going to be a playoff-type atmosphere--it’s a big series--but that’s what it’s all about,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said Sunday, after the Angels had ended their nine-game losing streak. “Basically, it’s our season, in a nutshell.”

The Angels have six games left, two in Seattle and four at home against Oakland, and they feel they must sweep the Mariners to have any shot of winning the division title. A Seattle sweep would clinch at least a tie for it.

The Angels are also half a game behind the New York Yankees in the wild-card race, so a split with the Mariners is essential and a sweep still might be necessary, because the Yankees close the season against the weak Milwaukee Brewers (64-74) and Toronto Blue Jays (56-83).

“Every game is a must-win now,” said Angel right fielder Tim Salmon, the team’s best and most consistent player this season. “I’ve never been in a playoff-game situation, so it will be interesting to see how we respond to it in Seattle.”

The Mariners, whose late-season surge began around July 31, when pitcher Andy Benes arrived in a trade with San Diego, are trying not to heap too much significance on the series.

They know the Angels have been struggling, having lost 27 of their last 36 games and all of what was an 11-game lead on Aug. 9. But they also saw what happened Sunday, when Jim Abbott shut out the Rangers on three hits and the other Angels got several clutch hits. They know how such an emotional victory can charge a team.

“They’re not playing very well right now, but they’re a much better team than they’re showing,” Seattle reliever Norm Charlton said. “They’re coming here with something to prove, and anybody who believes they’re out of this thing is crazy.

“No one thought a month ago that we had any chance of being close to them, but nothing has been clinched.”