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A potentially ugly loss turned into an ugly victory Wednesday night for the Angels, who took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by the Milwaukee Brewers and a clutch hit by shortstop Gary DiSarcina to eke out a 3-2 victory in 11 innings.

A paltry Anaheim Stadium crowd of 15,024 watched Angel closer Lee Smith, the game’s all-time saves leader, blow a two-run lead in the ninth, but DiSarcina eased the sting, slapping a Mike Fetters fastball into left field with the bases loaded to snap a 2-2 tie.

Brewer reliever Graeme Lloyd retired the first two batters in the 11th, but a routine fly ball to left field by Garret Anderson bounced off Greg Vaughn’s glove for an error, opening the door for an Angel rally.

Pinch-hitter Tim Wallach was intentionally walked, and Milwaukee Manager Phil Garner brought in Fetters to face pinch-hitter Rex Hudler. Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann countered with left-handed hitting Mike Aldrete, who drew a walk to load the bases.

Fetters threw three balls to DiSarcina before finding the strike zone, but DiSarcina snapped an 0-for-8 spell with a sharp single to left on Fetters’ 3-1 pitch to end the game.

That made a winner of Angel reliever Mike James, who pitched two scoreless innings, but had to escape a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the 11th.

Angel starter Mark Langston left in the eighth inning to a standing ovation, waving his cap to the crowd after his masterful, 7 1/3-inning, two-hit shutout of the Brewers.

With Troy Percival relieving him, a one-run lead, and Smith warming in the bullpen, surely the game was in good hands, Langston must have thought.

Think again. Percival got out of the eighth inning, but Smith failed to hold a two-run lead in the ninth, as John Jaha’s two-run single tied the game.

Smith, who tore the patella tendon in his right knee in a November hunting accident and has struggled to regain his form this spring, got two quick outs to start the ninth.

But Kevin Seitzer singled to center and Vaughn doubled into the right-field corner, putting runners on second and third. Jaha then lined a single to left-center, which easily scored Seitzer and Vaughn to tie the game.

Smith struck out Turner Ward to end the inning and walked off the field to a cascade of boos.

Percival, who had several two-inning stints last season, had faced only three batters in the eighth, giving up a single to Jeff Cirillo and retiring David Hulse and Jose Valentin on fly-ball outs.

But Lachemann, sticking to the bullpen formula that was so successful in 1995--Percival in the eighth, Smith in the ninth--elected to put the game in Smith’s hands, a decision that cost Langston the victory.

Langston, showing no ill effects from his heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Mariners in a one-game playoff to determine the American League West championship last October, was near-perfect in his first start of 1996.

The left-hander walked one, struck out seven and allowed only a single to Seitzer in the first inning and a single to Matt Mieske in the eighth.

“I watched that game [15-9 loss to the Brewers] last night, and it seemed that a lot of the pitches they hit were up, so that just got me thinking, keep the ball down,” Langston said.

“I was really moving the ball around well. I had three pitches working and some really great defense behind me. People talk a lot about our offense, but our defense wins a lot of games for us, and it did tonight.”

Langston had to pitch a shutout to keep pace with Brewer starter Ben McDonald, who continued his domination of the Angels in Anaheim Stadium by throwing six scoreless innings and allowing three hits in his Milwaukee debut.