Angels Take Different Path to Win

Jarrod Washburn knew it wouldn’t last.

It couldn’t.

The extraordinary amount of run support the Angel left-hander had received in his previous eight starts surely had to come to an end. And it did on Friday night.

But then the Angel bats woke up, after Washburn left the game but in time for a come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in front of 43,557 at Angel Stadium.

“Win games,” said Washburn, who had been the recipient of 72 runs, 62 when he was in the game, this season. “That’s all that matters.

“I don’t think anyone could have expected that run support to continue. It’s a game of streaks.”

It was nearly a game lost by the Angels, who had not scored fewer than six runs in any of Washburn’s previous starts but rallied for four in the eighth inning.

Scot Shields (4-0) got the victory with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings and Angel closer Troy Percival earned his 11th save.

Baltimore reliever Mike De Jean (0-4) took the loss.

The Angels rallied after Oriole starter Eric Dubose was taken out of the game with a 3-1 lead and replaced by De Jean.

Adam Kennedy, who had been replaced in the starting lineup, pinch-hit for Alfredo Amezaga and singled on a two-strike pitch.

Chone Figgins’ bunt was good for a single before Vladimir Guerrero singled to left-center, driving in Kennedy and moving Figgins to third, Guerrero going to second on the throw.

Baltimore Manager Lee Mazzilli replaced De Jean with Darwin Cubillan and the Angel hit parade continued.

Jose Guillen singled to drive in both Figgins and Guerrero for the lead.

“That was one of those situations where it’s great when those guys are getting on in front of Vladi and myself,” said Guillen, who had been 0 for 13 against the Orioles in Baltimore last weekend. “I don’t know if I’m lucky or a good hitter, but I knew he was going to try to pitch it inside on me. So I just stepped back from the plate and went the other way.”

Guillen then stole second base before Jose Molina singled off Oriole second baseman Brian Roberts to score Guillen.

Mazzilli then brought in left-hander B.J. Ryan, who struck out pinch-hitter Bengie Molina, and when Robb Quinlan singled to right, Jose Molina was thrown out at the plate by Jay Gibbons.

With four runs in the eighth, the Angels (27-15) nearly equaled the six runs they had scored in their previous 50 innings.

It wasn’t without drama. Not when Percival gave up a leadoff single to Larry Bigbie, pinch-hitter Rafael Palmeiro’s towering drive to right-center was caught against the wall by a leaping Figgins and Percival walked Roberts.

Percival, who threw 22 pitches, struck out pinch-hitter B.J. Surhoff and got Melvin Mora to pop out to Kennedy at second to end it.

There was other good news for the Angels, at least that’s how Manager Mike Scioscia preferred to describe it -- Darin Erstad ran, hit and threw on his injured right hamstring on Friday.

“Ersty’s feeling ahead of where a lot of us thought he’d be,” Scioscia said. “He’ll come on the road trip with us and hopefully keep pushing forward until his strength comes back to that hamstring. I think if there is any sign of optimism of what’s happening, you’d have to point to Ersty because he looks like he’s coming along ahead.”

Scioscia also said that the Angels were, at the moment, looking within for offensive help.

Out-of-work outfielder Raul Mondesi told Associated Press in the Dominican Republic that the Angels were one of four teams -- along with Boston, St. Louis and Seattle -- interested in his services.

“If you’re looking for depth and you’re looking for another bat it’s always nice to say, ‘OK, let’s look outside and bring somebody in,’ ” Scioscia said. “But realistically, with Tim Salmon on the horizon, with Ersty making a lot of progress and with Garret [Anderson], I think, being less open-ended as far as when he’s coming back, I think most of the improvement is going to come from these guys coming back, not necessarily from an outside bat.”