ANAHEIM, Calif. — If Jerry Manuel's first game as the New York Mets' manager was any indication, he has plenty of work to do.

The struggling Mets managed just six scattered singles, made three errors and generally appeared ragged as the Los Angeles Angels beat them, 6-1, last night.

"We looked very tired. I know I was tired. Maybe they were going through what I was going through," said Manuel, promoted from bench coach to interim manager when Willie Randolph was fired late the previous night. "Hopefully now that the cloud has lifted, we can get back to playing baseball.

"We've got a good team. It's just a matter of all of us getting on the same page and doing the things we need to do to win. I don't think we had the opportunity to dot all our Is and cross all our Ts. I think that's a process that's going to be ongoing for a period of time."

Even New York ace Johan Santana, facing Angels counterpart John Lackey, couldn't make Manuel's debut a winning one. Santana (7-5) gave up five runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks in six innings. Lackey (4-1) held the Mets to one run on six hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Santana believes things will turn around for the Mets, who have lost eight of 12 and are 6 1/2 games back of Philadelphia in the NL East.

"Everything was very positive (during the pregame meeting), so I think we're going to feel more confident about ourselves and there's going to be a better atmosphere in this clubhouse," he said.

Randolph was fired after New York had won its second in a row, 9-6, in the series opener in Anaheim. Mets general manager Omar Minaya caught a flight to the West Coast during the day, told Randolph at the team hotel several hours after the game that he was dismissed, and asked Manuel to take the job.

Manuel noted Minaya's comment that the GM had waited until after the game because he thought it was disrespectful to fire a manager in uniform.

After addressing a swarm of reporters outside the clubhouse door following his first game in his new position, Manuel walked away and quipped: "I made it through. I'm going to have to sleep in this uniform, though."

Tigers 5, Giants 1: Kenny Rogers (5-4) won in his 27th different ballpark and improved to 27-4 all-time against the Giants and Marcus Thames homered in his fifth straight game to help visiting Detroit win.

Yankees 8, Padres 0: Jason Giambi homered twice and Andy Pettitte (7-5) looked particularly sharp as host New York beat San Diego to match a season high with its fifth straight victory. Pettitte tied a season high with nine strikeouts in seven innings, improving to 4-0 in his past six starts.

Red Sox 3, Phillies 0: Jon Lester (6-3) struck out five over seven shutout innings and Coco Crisp homered to lead visiting Boston over Philadelphia. Jonathan Papelbon worked the ninth for his 20th save.

Twins 2, Nationals 1: Livan Hernandez (7-4), who is on pace to become the first pitcher since Atlanta's Phil Niekro in 1979 to allow more than 300 hits in a season, allowed one run on just five hits in seven innings as host Minnesota beat Washington. He needed just 77 pitches for his first win since May 12.

Athletics 15, Diamondbacks 1: Mark Ellis hit two home runs to lead a six-homer barrage as visiting Oakland hammered Arizona. Eric Chavez, Maui's Kurt Suzuki, Bobby Crosby and Rajai Davis also homered for Oakland, which won its fourth straight.

Orioles 6, Astros 5: Melvin Mora hit a two-run double in the eighth inning to cap a rally as host Baltimore sent Houston to its sixth straight defeat. The Orioles trailed 5-3 before rebounding to earn their third comeback victory in four games.

Brewers 7, Blue Jays 0: Manny Parra (6-2) scattered four hits in seven scoreless innings and Ryan Braun hit two home runs as host Milwaukee beat Toronto. Prince Fielder, Russell Branyan and Craig Counsell also homered for Milwaukee.

Rangers 7, Braves 5: Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead to stay with his American League-best 19th homer in the first inning and Milton Bradley added a two-run single on which he suffered a mild left quadriceps strain in host Texas' win over Atlanta.

White Sox 16, Pirates 5: Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, Orlando Cabrera and Jim Thome homered as host Chicago rolled over Pittsburgh. Thome's homer, a three-run shot to cap a five-run seventh, was the 521st of his career, tying him with Willie McCovey and Ted Williams for 16th on the career list.

Rockies 10, Indians 2: Greg Reynolds (2-4) allowed one run on five hits and led host Colorado's season-high 17-hit attack by going 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Royals 2, Cardinals 1: Mike Aviles homered to snap an eighth-inning tie as visiting Kansas City beat St. Louis.

Rays 3, Cubs 2: Cliff Floyd and Evan Longoria hit solo home runs as host Tampa Bay beat Chicago.

Mariners 5, Marlins 4: Felix Hernandez (6-5) had a strong outing as Seattle snapped an eight-game home losing streak. He struck out six consecutive batters at one point, including the side in the fourth on the minimum nine pitches.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Dodgers 3, Reds 1: Right-hander Chad Billingsley (5-7) took a shutout into the seventh inning as visiting Los Angeles ended a five-game losing streak. Takashi Saito struck out a pair in the ninth while getting his ninth save in 12 chances.