Brewers Get Field Day at Angels’ Expense, 7-2 : Baseball: Milwaukee scores six runs off McCaskill and is aided by several defensive lapses.

The Angels are contending for the American League West title, while the Brewers are contending for little besides avoiding the nether regions of the AL East.

But on Monday, it was the Brewers who executed flawlessly, making each strategic move pay off to defeat the Angels, 7-2, before a cranky crowd of 21,147 at Anaheim Stadium.

“Everything went wrong,� said Angel left fielder Luis Polonia, who caught most of the fans’ flak because he didn’t catch two fly balls hit to him.

“I couldn’t get any hits, I couldn’t catch the ball, nothing. It was just a bad night. I go home and forget about it. Tomorrow, I’ll come back and make things happen.�

Few things went in the Angels’ favor, as they lost ground to the Oakland Athletics for the first time since they moved within 1 1/2 games on June 3. They now are 2 1/2 games behind.

Kirk McCaskill (6-6) gave up seven hits and six runs--four of them earned--in four innings as his four-game winning streak ended. He also undermined his cause in the third by stopping short and failing to cover first base on a bunt by Bill Spiers with runners on first and second and no one out.

First baseman Wally Joyner flipped the ball to the bag, but neither McCaskill nor second baseman Jack Howell was there, allowing former Angel Dante Bichette to score and putting Jim Gantner on third. Gantner scored on a ground out and Spiers scored on a single by B.J. Surhoff.

Those were all the runs right-hander Chris Bosio (5-6) would need, as the Brewers ended a seven-game losing streak and won for only the second time on their current 12-game trip.

“Tonight we executed well, advanced the runners and got a good outing from our pitcher,� Milwaukee Manager Tom Trebelhorn said. “We’re not necessarily thinking about stopping the streak--we just wanted to play a good solid game. It was gratifying to see good play result in a win.�

McCaskill’s play wasn’t a good one.

“Jack was there and I stopped, which was my mistake,� McCaskill said. “Wally couldn’t see Jack. Before Wally got the ball, Jack was on the bag. The whole thing was my fault.�

Angel Manager Doug Rader didn’t fault Polonia for losing Greg Vaughn’s liner in the fourth, which scored Greg Brock, or for diving and failing to catch Paul Molitor’s sinking liner in the fifth. Polonia wasn’t charged with an error on either play, but both proved costly. The Brewers scored twice in the fourth, as Bichette drove in Vaughn with a sacrifice fly, and added two runs in the fifth.

Molitor’s liner rolled past Polonia to lead off the fifth, and after Robin Yount was walked intentionally, the Brewers pulled a delayed steal. Yount drew a throw, which was wide, and shortstop Dick Schofield’s throw home got away from catcher Ron Tingley. Molitor scored, with Yount taking third. Yount, who played in his 2,504th game--breaking a tie with Babe Ruth for 29th place on the all-time games-played list--scored on Brock’s infield single.

The fans booed Polonia after each misplay, but Rader said he hadn’t lost confidence in his left fielder.

“He never backed off or stopped trying,� Rader said. “I guarantee you the people booing wouldn’t have the manhood to persevere the way he did. He deserves a lot of credit. It takes a lot of moxie to get through a night like that and not let it get to you. It’s not through a lack of effort that he gets into those kind of situations.�

Polonia got a mock cheer from the fans for the first catch he made thereafter, and he acknowledged that with a wave. He later said that he had had no chance because the two line drives were falling below the level of the lights.

“People should sometimes realize what’s going on,� he said. “There are about 3,000 lights right there. . . . I can deal with this. I played in New York and this is nothing (by comparison). I try to go out there and have fun. I catch one ball and tip my hat. I catch another, I point, ‘That’s two.’

“If I can survive New York, I can survive here.�

The Angels scored once in the eighth, and might have had more if Bichette hadn’t thrown out Dave Winfield at home plate. In an attempt to get things going in the ninth, Polonia stole second and third, but Joyner struck out and Winfield flied to left to end it.

“Bizarre is a good word to describe this one,� said Tingley, who acknowledged that he was caught off guard on the fifth-inning delayed steal. “You don’t see Luis miss balls like that normally. This one just stunk.�