Tim Salmon watches his game-winning homer. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        ANAHEIM - The Anaheim Angels clearly have a flair for the dramatic and a whole lot of pop in their bats. That was never more evident than in Sunday night's 11-10 victory over the San Francisco Giants in Game 2 of the World Series.

        The Angels delighted the 44,584 noisemakers/fans at Edison Field by winning a six-homer, three-hour, 57-minute slugfest of a game.

        “This is what the World Series is all about it,” San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said.

        “That might have been one of the best games I've even been involved in,” Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said.

        The Angels won it after blowing a 5-0 first-inning lead. They won it by with power. They won it with stellar relief pitching.

        They won it on Tim Salmon's two-out, two-run homer in the eighth off former Red Felix Rodriguez. It was Salmon's second two-run shot of the night and the Angels' 21st homer in this postseason, a record.

Salmon exults as he rounds the bases. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        “I knew I got it,” Salmon said. “I knew the situation. You knew it would come down to something like that the way the game was going.

        “This club is amazing. It was just my turn tonight.”

        Barry Bonds answered Salmon's blast in the ninth with his second homer of the Series - a two-out monster blast to right.

        But Troy Percival got Benito Santiago for the final out to end it.

        It means the series goes to San Francisco tied at one game apiece.

        Losing Game 1 seems to be part of the Angel strategy. The Angels, 0-3 in Game 1s of this postseason, pushed their record to 8-0 in other postseason games with Sunday's win.

        How big was the win? Taking a 2-0 lead has lately made the final five games a formality. The last four series winners have won after taking a 2-0 lead. Ten of the last 11 teams that have gone up 2-0 have won the series. .

Ex-Red Reggie Sanders homered for the second straight night. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        After the five-run Angel first, the Cincinnati connection - former Red Reggie Sanders and Moeller grad David Bell - started the comeback for the Giants with back-to-back homers in the second.

        That turned the game into a offensive show for the ages. Neither starting pitcher made it past the second. The score went from 5-0 to 5-4 to 7-4 to 7-5 to 9-7 to 9-8 to 9-9 to 11-9 to 11-10.

        “It went back and fourth and back and forth,” Baker said. “It was one of the best games I was ever involved with.”

        The back and forth ended with three perfect innings from 20-year-old rookie Francisco Rodriguez.

        “He was incredible,” Scioscia said. “That was the game right there.”

        The Angels looked like they had sealed the deal in with the five runs in the first.

        Anaheim started the inning with four straight hits, sent nine batters to the plate and pulled off the first steal of home in 28 years.

        “We pounded the ball,” Scioscia said.

Francisco Rodriguez reacts after strking out Sanders to end the seventh inning. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        The steal of home seemed to say it was going to be the Angels' night. They were already up 4-0 when Scott Spiezio stole second with Brad Fullmer at third. Seeing that catcher Santiago's throw was high, Fullmer broke for home and made it easily.

        It was the first steal of home in World Series since Tim McCarver did it in the 1964 Series for St. Louis.

        But the game quickly lost its blowout feel. Bonds led off the second with a walk, the first on three on the night. After J.T. Snow singled, Sanders hit an 0-2 pitch out for his second home run in as many nights.

        Bell followed with a solo shot to dead center.

        Two swings and it was a one-run game at 5-4.

        The Angels answered power with power. Salmon hit a two-run shot in the Angel second to make it 7-4.

        Both teams tried to stop the bleeding. Anaheim used John Lackey, the scheduled Game 4 starter, to relieve starter Kevin Appier.

Felix Rodriguez after giving up Salmon's second homer. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        The bullpen did settle it down for a while. But Rich Aurilia led off the fifth with a double. After Kent took a third strike, the Angels walked Bonds intentionally and brought in Ben Weber to pitch. Bad moves. Santiago followed with a single to load the bases.

        Snow stroked a two-run single in right. It was 7-7. The Giants had come all the way back.

        After Sanders struck out, Bell hit a groundball and second baseman Adam Kennedy made a diving stop, but Snow beat the flip to second. Santiago scored to make it 8-7. Shawon Dunston followed with a single to make it 9-7.

        The Angels got back one run with a sacrifice fly from Spiezio in the bottom of the fifth.

        The Angeles tied it at 9-9 on Garret Anderson's two-out single in the sixth.

        The momentum of the game was clearly Anaheim's again by then. That's because rookie sensation Rodriguez was on the mound. Rodriguez, 20, became the youngest pitcher to pitch in a World Series since Don Gullett and Milt Wilcox pitched for the Reds as 19-year-olds in 1970.

        Rodriguez worked the sixth, seventh and eighth, perfectly, striking out four of the nine batters.

        His first 12 pitches were strikes.

        “He was big,” Baker said. “He shut us down.”

        Rodriguez got the win, pushing his record to 5-0 in the postseason.

        E-mail jfay@enquirer.com

Angels even World Series, 11-10 Game 2 Box Score DAUGHERTY: Bonds keeps you awake 'till it's over Angels' Salmon upstages Bonds Angels' Rodriguez quick into record books Sanders shines on Series' stage Bad pitching steals Giants' momentum Giants' Rodriguez throws one pitch too many Family wins baseball sweepstakes Early birds catch Cinergy Field memorabilia

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