Quote: "You don't make a decision based on one start. But he needs to get a whole lot better. What we saw today was unacceptable on the major-league level -- or on any level."

-- Rangers manager Johnny Oates, on Todd Van Poppel's start, his first since 1996.

It's a fact: Cleveland's Omar Vizquel twice singled off David Wells yesterday, bringing his career performance against the Yankee to 3-for-32.

Who's hot: The Angels beat the second-place Rangers four times in six games in an eight-day span. Anaheim, leading Texas by 1 1/2 games in the AL West, has won 17 of its past 20 games.

Who's not: The Mariners and their pinch hitters. They are 3-for-26 (.115) this season. And Seattle, which won the division last season, dropped to 4-15 in June and hasn't won consecutive games since May 28-29.

On deck: New York's Hideki Irabu (6-2) takes his AL-best ERA of 1.68 against Bartolo Colon (6-4, 2.73) today in Cleveland.

Pub Date: 6/21/98