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``It's been a long time coming. It seems like a dream come true,'' said Salmon, the 11th-year outfielder drenched in champagne and beer. ``I appreciate this more than anybody in this room.''

No other player in the clubhouse has been associated longer with the Angels, who earned their first postseason berth since 1986 with a 10-5 victory over Texas on Thursday.

Salmon was an easy and more than willing target for his teammates during the postgame party that had been delayed by four straight losses.

``He said he was getting drunk from all the beer going through his scalp,'' pitcher Jarrod Washburn said.

Salmon's RBI single in the fifth inning broke a 2-2 tie. Garret Anderson followed with a three-run homer, and Salmon hit a two-run homer in the seventh before Scott Spiezio added another two-run homer.

Since Anaheim last played in the postseason, 25 of the other 29 major league teams have been to the playoffs. The closest the Angels had gotten during that time was when they finished a game behind Seattle in 1995, when Anderson was a rookie.

``I had a glimpse of it my first year, but that has been a sour note in my career until now,'' Anderson said. ``I was so close, then the last six or seven years I got a rude awakening of how hard it is to really get to the postseason. I'm enjoying this.''

After the first three weeks this season, the Angels were 6-14 their worst 20-game start ever and 10{ games behind Seattle in the AL West. They have a club-record 97 wins, including 45 on the road.

The Angels also went to the playoffs in 1979 and 1982 but has never won a postseason series. They clinched on the road for the first time, despite losing seven of nine to start the trip.

``We got over that little rough spot of maybe guys were trying to bull themselves through that last game to get at least to the playoffs,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``This validates the great season we've had.''

Anaheim, which eliminated Seattle with the victory, opens the postseason as the AL wild card Tuesday in New York against the Yankees. Oakland and Minnesota play in the other first-round AL playoff series.

Salmon and Anderson got the big fifth-inning hits against rookie Colby Lewis (1-3), who gave up six runs on five hits in his 4 1-3 innings.

``I felt like I threw the ball well, and I thought the pitch to Anderson was pretty good,'' Lewis said. ``When he hit it, I didn't think it was going to carry. That was pretty much the turning point.''

Rookie John Lackey (9-4) gave up three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He left with a 6-2 lead after consecutive singles to start the sixth, and reliever Brendan Donnelly allowed an RBI single to rookie Hank Blalock.

Todd Greene's ninth homer gave Texas a 1-0 lead in the second, but Anaheim scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth after an error by left fielder Mike Lamb. Brad Fullmer had an RBI double and Troy Glaus' groundout brought home another run.

The lead lasted just one pitch in the bottom half, as Herbert Perry homered. But the Angels charged right back in front in the fifth.< ^Notes:@ Anaheim closer Troy Percival, also a rookie in 1995, closed out the clincher nine days after he got his 40th save in his last appearance. He allowed a leadoff homer to Lamb. ``I had the worst possible scenario. I had rust and too much adrenaline, but it worked out.'' ... Salmon has 30 homers against Texas, including 16 at The Ballpark in Arlington, the most by an opposing player. ... Rangers RF Todd Hollandsworth left with a bruised knee after fouling a ball off his right leg in the second inning. ... Before Salmon's fifth-inning hit, the top three batters in Anaheim's lineup David Eckstein, Darin Erstad and Salmon were a combined 0-for-29 in the series.