BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Anderson Doesn’t Help Cause

There has been much apprehension over the fourth and fifth spots in the Angels’ pitching rotation, but the way left-hander Brian Anderson has been throwing, the No. 3 slot also might be a cause for concern.

Anderson, who had a surprising 7-5 season as a rookie in 1994, gave up six earned runs on eight hits in two-plus innings Monday as the Seattle Mariners bombed the Angels, 13-2, in front of 1,487 in Tempe Diablo Stadium.

That came on the heels of last Thursday’s not-so-stellar two-inning stint against the Milwaukee Brewers, in which Anderson gave up two runs on three hits.

“I hope I get these innings out of the way now, because I’ve been giving up runs in bunches,” said Anderson, who will be 23 on April 26. “I’m just not hitting my spots. It’s a matter of refining a few small things. But if I don’t do that, I’m in trouble.”

Edgar Martinez had three hits, including a two-run triple and a two-run homer, and Jay Buhner had three hits and two RBIs as the Mariners pounded four Angel pitchers for 19 hits.

Julio Valera, bidding for a spot in the rotation, gave up two runs on three hits in two innings in his first major league appearance since 1993. Valera, a right-hander, missed most of ’93 after reconstructive elbow surgery and spent ’94 rehabilitating in the minor leagues.

“I didn’t know where my fastball was going,” Valera said.

Not only did Valera’s pitches lack direction, they lacked velocity.

“You’re not looking for everything--velocity and location--at this point,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “But there’s got to be something. Julio didn’t have either, and that’s not going to help him.”

Lachemann said Scott Sanderson, Shawn Boskie, Mike Bielecki, who gave up only one run in three innings Monday, and Andrew Lorraine have the best shots of winning the fourth and fifth pitching spots, with Valera and Joe Magrane still in the hunt.

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The end of the baseball strike has had virtually no effect on the Angels’ season ticket sales. The team as of Monday had sold 9,880 season tickets, an increase of only 30 since the major leaguers returned in early April.

The Angels had 12,300 season ticket holders last year but lost 716 because the Rams are moving to St. Louis--they purchased the seats that went with the Anaheim Stadium luxury suites--and 300 because radio station KMPC, citing budget constraints, did not renew its tickets.

About 25,000 tickets, priced at $1 each, have been sold for the Angels’ opening-night game against the Detroit Tigers April 26. Kevin Uhlich, vice president of operations, said he expects a large walk-up sale and a crowd of 45,000-50,000 for the game.

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Third baseman Eduardo Perez, who hit .209 in 38 games with the Angels last season, has agreed to a one-year contract for $135,000, the same salary he made in 1994. . . . Reliever Mitch Williams, shaky in his debut Saturday, was diagnosed as having a strained right quadricep muscle and will not throw again until Thursday.