Salmon, Edmonds Stay Hot : Baseball: Outfielders continue battle for Angel home run title, and the Twins pay the price, 8-5.

MINNEAPOLIS —  The race is on. No, not the American League West playoff race. The Angels maintain their stranglehold on the division.

The race in question pits Angel right fielder Tim Salmon against center fielder Jim Edmonds in their personal home run derby.

To the victor goes team bragging rights and perhaps added leverage in future contract talks. The real winners in this slugfest are the Angels, who benefited from a homer from each in an 8-5 victory over Minnesota on Friday at the Metrodome.

Edmonds hit a two-run homer in the fourth that gave the Angels a 6-4 lead. Salmon’s bases-empty homer in the ninth then cemented the Angels’ ninth road victory in the past 10 games.

Mike James pitched 3 1/3 innings of relief, his longest major league outing, and picked up his second career victory. Lee Smith pitched the ninth and earned his 27th save.

The Angels promptly fell behind, 2-0, in the first inning, but a three-run homer by Garret Anderson in the second gave them the lead. Edmonds’ homer put them in front again and Salmon provided insurance.

First baseman J.T. Snow added the game’s stellar defensive play, diving to stop Rich Becker’s hard-hit grounder with one on and one out in the ninth.

“We’ve gotten them in all shapes and forms,” Snow said of the Angels’ 61 victories.

Edmonds has played a key part in most of them.

His homer was his 26th and tied him with Salmon for the team lead until Salmon hit his 27th.

“I’ve noticed that every time I’ve hit one, he’s hit one right after,” said Edmonds, who homered in his fourth consecutive start.

Well, it was the third time this week anyway.

“He’s not going to give up,” Edmonds said, smiling. “I’m sure he doesn’t want to see some little center fielder leading the team in home runs.”

Friday’s game followed a familiar pattern, with Edmonds again the center of reporters’ postgame attention.

He was once again quizzed about the hows and whys of his 1995 success. As in the past, he traced his improvement to off-season weight work and the teachings of hitting coach Rod Carew.

And he cited confidence as a reason for his and the team’s standout play.

“Everybody goes out and figures we’re going to score six or seven runs,” he said. “That’s a great attitude to have. As soon as it gets rolling, it seems like it’s not going to stop. We’re having more fun and that keeps you upbeat.”

These are supposed to be the dog days of August, but it’s tough to tell by watching the Angels. One day after being shut out for the first time since May 2, they rebounded by knocking around Minnesota starter Mike Trombley and three relievers.

It appeared to take the Angels roughly one inning to shake off the effects of Thursday’s 5-0 loss to Kansas City.

Starter Brian Anderson never found the right groove, lasting only 3 2/3 innings and giving up five runs and seven hits.

After four consecutive victories, Anderson is 0-1 with a 7.36 earned-run average in his past two starts. James stepped in, stopped the Twins and the Angels kept rolling.

“He was the key to the ballgame,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said of James.

In the end, the Angel bullpen fared better than Minnesota’s and Garret Anderson, Edmonds and Salmon provided the necessary offensive punch.

Anderson’s 12th homer extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games. Good, but not the longest active Angel streak.

Chili Davis singled in his first at-bat, extending his streak to 16. Good, but not the longest this season.

Edmonds hit in a major league-leading 23 consecutive games June 4-29.

“I think the biggest thing for me this year is I’ve found consistency,” Edmonds said. “In the past, I’ve been more streaky. I’d find it, I’d lose it, I’d find it, I’d lose it.”

His consistency also translated to dependability in the outfield. He had played 96 errorless games until Friday, when he misplayed Chuck Knoblauch’s single in the fourth.

“Yeah, I was proud of it,” Edmonds said. “I thought I’d take it [his first error] harder than I did. It was a bad way for it to happen. The ball hit a seam and hopped up on me.”