Angels Just Hate to Say Goodbye

The Angels bade farewell to their fans Sunday and left them with a less-than-enthralling parting gift, the kind that wedding guests conveniently leave on the table when departing the reception.

Oh sure, the Angels fully expect to be back for at least two American League division series games sometime next week to dole out better goodies in the form of playoff-caliber baseball.

But their 8-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to close out the home portion of the regular season was far from fitting for a fan base that set an attendance record for the second consecutive season.

Lost in the Devil Rays’ hit parade -- they pounded Angel pitching for 13 hits, including three home runs -- was the Angels’ eight-game win streak. But they lost none of their AL West lead, which remained four games over Oakland when the A’s were defeated by Texas, 6-2, Sunday night.

The Cy Young Award candidacy of Angel starter Bartolo Colon (20-8) took a hit too -- especially with the notoriously short memories of voters -- after he gave up six runs and 10 hits in five innings.

“My back bothered me a little bit and I was leaving the ball high in the strike zone,” said Colon, who has been hampered by lower-back issues of late. “They were hitting the ball hard the first few games [of the series]. But my back had nothing to do with not executing pitches.”

Still, Colon, who struck out five, walked one and threw 78 pitches, is scheduled to go on three days’ rest Thursday to close out the Angels’ four-game series at Oakland, which begins tonight. But should the Angels (89-66) clinch the American League West before then, they won’t need him.

“If they decide to give me the ball, I’m going to be ready,” Colon said. “I have to put this one behind me.”

The Angels’ magic number for clinching the division title (any combination of Angel wins and A’s losses) fell to four. With a split in the East Bay, the Angels will be celebrating their second consecutive division title on the same field as last year.

“We feel good right now lining it up,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of the Angels’ tentative rotation. “Certainly, we can adjust if we need to.”

Colon needed to make adjustments when he did not have his best stuff, the Devil Rays scoring one in the first inning, three in the third and single runs in the fourth and fifth.

Left-hander Mark Hendrickson (11-7) went eight innings to win his seventh straight decision. He was 3-0 against the Angels this season.

Colon gave up the three homers, including back-to-back, two-out shots in the third by Jorge Cantu, his 28th, and Aubrey Huff, his 21st. Colon has been taken deep three times in two of his last three starts, both losses.

The Devil Rays, whose 65-91 record is the second-worst in the AL, won a season series with the Angels for the first time, taking five of nine meetings, and also beat Colon for the first time.

“He always has great stuff,” Tampa Bay rookie Jonny Gomes said. “But after we lost the first two games, we were going to try and scrap and see if we could get one before leaving.

“Sometimes the pitcher gets you and sometimes you get the pitcher.”

Gomes got Colon in the fifth, a solo shot for his 21st homer.

Colon, who on Tuesday became the first Angel to win 20 games since Nolan Ryan in 1974, was given a standing ovation by the crowd before the game.

“Not only did I hear them today, but ever since I arrived here,” Colon said. “At times I’ve disappointed them, but they’ve always given me the support.”

With Cleveland left-hander Cliff Lee, who is 18-4 with a 3.90 earned-run average and has not lost since July 8, seemingly gaining on him in the Cy Young race, Colon acknowledged he is thinking of it.

“Of course, a little bit,” said Colon, who is from the Dominican Republic. “If it happens, God willing, I don’t know what they’ll do in my hometown.”