ANAHEIM, Calif. -- When starter Russ Ortiz left the mound in the seventh inning, San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker gave him the game ball as a souvenir of a job well done.

And then Baker made the mistake of giving a ball to Felix Rodriguez. And another to Scott Eyre. And another to Tim Worrell. And one last one to Robb Nen.

The Giants' bullpen blew a five-run lead in Game 6 of the World Series on Saturday night -- a spectacular collapse at the worst possible time for a franchise that's waited 48 years for a championship.

No single pitcher deserved the blame: San Francisco's four relievers allowed six hits in just 1 2/3 innings, and each of Baker's choices failed in a different way.

A confidence-crushing night in front of a deafening Anaheim crowd resulted in the Angels' 6-5 victory, which sent the World Series to a seventh game. Four San Francisco relievers who couldn't come through on probably the biggest nights of their careers will get less than 24 hours to regroup.

The Giants seemed headed to their first World Series title since moving to San Francisco after big homers by Shawon Dunston and Barry Bonds helped them build a 5-0 lead -- but momentum shifted with alarming speed in the seventh inning.

After Ortiz allowed consecutive one-out singles -- the last of his four hits -- Baker pulled him for Rodriguez, the hard-throwing setup man. Ortiz, with the game ball in his glove, walked off the field to a standing ovation from the small clutch of Giants fans behind the dugout.

Rodriguez, who gave up Tim Salmon's game-winning homer in Game 2, immediately made another huge mistake. Scott Spiezio pounded one of Rodriguez's first pitches down the right-field line, where it nestled in the seats just out of reach of right fielder Reggie Sanders.

The Giants' lead was now 5-3, and Rodriguez showed almost no emotion on the mound. Eyre, picked up on waivers from Toronto earlier in the season, relieved Rodriguez, and allowed a hit to his only batter in the eighth, but Worrell finished things off.

Worrell returned for the eighth amid the screams and excitement he rarely sees as a long reliever during the regular season. Earlier in the week, Worrell claimed that the adrenaline rush of a pressure situation made him a better pitcher.

The pressure barely affected him during an otherwise outstanding playoff run -- but Darin Erstad hit a solo homer off Worrell, and Salmon and Garret Anderson singled before advancing on Bonds' fumbling misplay in left field.

Worrell stared at Baker in dull disbelief as the manager came to the mound to remove him. In desperation, Baker went to Nen, his powerful closer. On Wednesday, Nen said he couldn't remember the last time he pitched in the eighth inning of a game, and he hoped it wouldn't happen any time soon.

Nen faced Troy Glaus -- a tantalizing matchup of a power pitcher against a power hitter. Glaus won with a drive to the outfield, scoring two runs as the crowd rocked Edison Field nearly off its foundations.