ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Brad Fullmer continued to make life

miserable for his former Anaheim Angels teammates -- particularly

Ramon Ortiz.

Fullmer homered off Ortiz and drove in two runs in his first

game in Anaheim since leaving as a free agent in the offseason,

leading the Texas Rangers to a 6-3 victory on Tuesday night.

Ortiz (0-2) was charged with four runs and six hits in 2 1-3

innings, after the Rangers pounded him for seven runs and nine hits

in 2 2-3 innings on April 9 at Arlington.

"He hasn't had great command, so you try to get him to make a

mistake and make the most of it," Fullmer said. "He's certainly

capable of doing some good things out there, but it's important

when a guy's not doing his best that we make him pay."

Ortiz's ERA in three starts this season is 12.65. But manager

Mike Scioscia insisted that his spot in the rotation is secure for

now.

"We don't foresee any knee-jerk reactions here," Scioscia

said. "It's clear we need to pitch better, but we still think

these are the guys who are going to do it.

"Ramon's an important part of our rotation. There are some

adjustments that need to be made, obviously, but Ramon is going to

take the ball again and we're going to give him every opportunity

to bet back in his groove."

Aaron Sele pitched three scoreless innings of two-hit relief for

the Angels.

"I still consider myself a starting pitcher," Sele said. "We

had a competition that was open this spring, and it went the way it

went. The decision wasn't mine to make. But I don't want anybody to

fail -- because if they're failing, we're not doing well."

Kenny Rogers (3-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in five

innings, striking out three and walking two. The victory was the

left-hander's 104th with the Rangers, tying Bobby Witt for second

place on the franchise list behind knuckleballer Charlie Hough's

139.

Jeff Nelson pitched a hitless eighth inning and Francisco

Cordero put runners on first and second in the ninth before

retiring Vladimir Guerrero on a groundout for his third save.

The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the second on Gerald Laird's

two-run single after a two-out walk to Kevin Mench and a double by

Laynce Nix.

Texas extended the margin to 5-1 in the third. Hank Blalock

doubled and scored on a single by Alfonso Soriano, who was caught

stealing by Bengie Molina one pitch before Fullmer chased Ortiz

with a homer to center.

It was the second homer for Fullmer, who stung the Angels with

four RBI in 12-6 win on April 10 at Arlington -- and hit a

three-run pinch double in a 7-6 win two nights later. Fullmer won a

World Series ring with Anaheim two years ago, but missed the final

86 games last season after injuring his right knee running out a

grounder. He signed with Texas as a free agent in December.

"It's good to be playing with my legs feeling good," Fullmer

said. "I mean, it wasn't like it was every day that my legs were

killing me, but there were a lot of days where I had to go out

there feeling less than my best. And over a couple of years, it

just kept was getting worse and worse.

"Looking back, I really don't mind that much that my knee blew

out. At least now, it's repaired. Dr. (Lewis) Yocum fixed it up and

I rehabbed way ahead of schedule."

Kevin Gregg relieved Ortiz and gave up a double to David

Dellucci and an RBI single to Mench that capped Texas' three-run

rally. Fullmer added a sacrifice fly in the seventh off Sele.

The Angels, who hadn't scored in the first inning of any of

their first 13 games, ended the drought when Troy Glaus hit a

run-scoring double off the right-field wall to drive in Darin

Erstad.

Jose Guillen drove in Anaheim's second run with a two-out single

in the third. Molina homered in the sixth off Dellucci's glove as

the left fielder made a leaping attempt above the bullpen fence.

The homer came against Carlos Almanzar.Game notes
Guerrero has two hits in his last 21 at-bats. ... Karl

Malone threw out a ceremonial first pitch, taking advantage of the

Los Angeles Lakers' three-day break between playoff games. The

Angels' Triple-A team is based in Salt Lake City, where Malone

spent 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz. ... Anaheim DH Tim Salmon was

a late scratch because of soreness in his left knee. So was Texas

1B Gerald Perry, who had a sore right calf. ... Adrian Gonzalez,

who started at 1B in place of Perry, singled in the second for his

first major league hit. Gonzalez was selected as the first overall

pick in the June 2000 draft by the Florida Marlins.