Angels Get No Answers to Questions : Baseball: This time a slumping rookie’s five-hitter overwhelms them in fifth loss in a row, 4-1, to Yankees.

NEW YORK â€”  Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann has tried lashing out at his team in a stirring postgame speech. He has tried shaking up the batting order.

Any other suggestions?

He is open to anything that might help his team end a losing streak that reached five games Wednesday with a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees before a paid crowd of 22,244 in Yankee Stadium.

While losing eight of their last nine and 11 of 14, the Angels have been shut down by the likes of Boston’s Roger Clemens, New York’s Jack McDowell and Baltimore’s Mike Mussina.

Wednesday, a rookie left-hander named Andy Pettitte, who hadn’t won a game in more than a month, pitched a five-hitter with eight strikeouts, becoming the latest in a growing line of pitchers to dominate an offense that is as limp as week-old lettuce.

“You try to do things that will help, but you don’t come to the park, throw all the names in a hat and pick your lineup,� Lachemann said.

“You don’t have to scream and yell at guys. They know when they’re screwing up. If you keep trying to shake things up, you go into a panic mode.�

The Angels maintained their eight-game lead in the American League West because of Texas’ loss to Minnesota and still seem unfazed by their two-week free-fall. But appearances can be deceiving.

“If there’s a sense of looseness [in the clubhouse], some guys might be faking it,� said pitcher Jim Abbott, who gave up 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings as his record dropped to 9-7.

“I think some of the veterans are trying to put on a happy face. We’re still seven or eight games up. This is not the time to be kicking ourselves around the clubhouse.�

For some, though, it is a time for extreme measures. Leadoff batter Tony Phillips, who has one hit in his last 19 at-bats, walked out of the clubhouse after the game--with his bat.

“We’re going to have a talk tonight,� Phillips said. “Man to . . . bat.�

Many Angels are probably ready to burn their bats. Jim Edmonds, who played Wednesday despite a strained muscle in his lower back, has one hit in his last 26 at-bats. Shortstop Damion Easley, who returned to the lineup after sitting out two games because of a sore shoulder, has one hit in his last 17.

Designated hitter Chili Davis is battling a one-for-16 slump, first baseman J.T. Snow is two for 17 and left fielder Garret Anderson is two for 16. The only starter hitting consistently is right fielder Tim Salmon, who had two hits Wednesday to raise his average to .326.

“No one is sitting back trying to protect our lead or coasting,� he said. “This is our first struggle this season, but we’ll get through it, and usually when you do, you’re stronger because of it.�

Pettitte had a perfect game until the fifth inning, when Salmon doubled to left. The Yankee pitcher, mixing his curve and fastball on both corners, retired the first 13 batters and 20 of the first 21.

New York scored in the first (Ruben Sierra’s RBI single), third (Sierra’s RBI single), fifth (Jim Leyritz’s RBI single) and sixth (Wade Boggs’ RBI double), but the Angels squandered an excellent opportunity to get back into the game in the eighth.

Anderson singled to open the inning but was picked off first on a move by Pettitte that fooled the Angel rookie. Rex Hudler doubled and scored on pinch-hitter Rene Gonzales’ single, but had Anderson remained on base, the score would have been 4-2 with none out.

Phillips then walked, putting runners on first and second. Had there been none out, Lachemann would have let his best bunter, Easley, remain in the game to sacrifice in order to put the tying run at second with Edmonds, Davis and Salmon to follow.

But with one out and a sacrifice out of the question, Lachemann called on pinch-hitter Spike Owen, who grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“It’s kind of hard to describe what happened,� Anderson said of the pickoff. “I wasn’t going anywhere. That was evident because I didn’t move. He used the same motion he uses when he goes to the plate, and I took my eye off it. I thought he was going home. The next thing you know, I’m out at first.�

And the next thing you know, the Angels are in the clubhouse trying to explain yet another loss, one that dropped them to 0-2 on this nine-game East Coast trip.

“There’s really no answer other than to keep working on the individual parts of the game and let it all mesh together,� Abbott said. “I’m very confident it will. It’s just a matter of being patient, letting it happen.�