Oliver takes his recent success in stride

Darren Oliver is 36, a veteran of 13 seasons with eight franchises, a pitcher who has experienced dozens of highs and lows in the game, so he wasn’t about to get too giddy over ascending to favored-nation status in the Angels’ bullpen.

The left-hander spent months lowering his earned-run average from an abysmal 11.81 in April to 3.96, and the long-term consistency that came with that reduction, combined with Scot Shields’ demotion from the setup role, produced the kind of opportunity Tuesday night that Oliver has waited for all season.

Handed the ball and a two-run lead, Oliver threw two hitless, scoreless innings, the seventh and eighth, to help preserve a 4-3 victory over the A’s, a performance Manager Mike Scioscia described as “huge, not only for tonight but in the big picture.”

Oliver’s reaction? “It was cool,” he said. “It was a lot of fun.”

And that was that. Oliver didn’t read anything more into the outing or speculate how it would affect his role, whether he would remain more of a sixth- and seventh-inning guy or become more of a late-inning, short man.

Nor could he pinpoint any particular reason why he has a 1.85 ERA and has limited opponents to a .143 average since the All-Star break after a shaky first half in which he had a 5.79 ERA and batters hit .310 against him.

“I’m not doing anything differently -- that’s just the way it goes,” Oliver said. “Sometimes the ball comes out of your hand good, sometimes it doesn’t.”

It would seem an effective Oliver could play a huge role in the playoffs, where he could help neutralize big left-handed bats such as David Ortiz, Travis Hafner and Hideki Matsui, but don’t expect the Angels to use Oliver as a left-handed specialist.

Left-handers are batting .319 in 72 at-bats against Oliver, and right-handers are batting .192 in 125 at-bats against him.

Gary Matthews Jr. has hit as low as seventh in the order against left-handers, understandable considering the switch-hitter is batting .183 from the right side, but Wednesday the slumping center fielder found himself in the seventh spot against right-hander Joe Blanton.

Matthews, who has hit mostly in the fourth or fifth spot since early May, has 15 hits in 89 at-bats in his last 24 games, a .169 mark that has dropped his average from .277 on Aug. 10 to .258. He has four home runs and six runs batted in during that span.

“Gary’s really been grinding it, and I think there’s a little frustration in some things, especially from the right side,” Scioscia said. “. . . We want Gary to get his at-bats, relax and just concentrate on playing baseball a little more than trying to get it all back in one swing.”

Though Erick Aybar was activated off the disabled list, the infielder will be limited to pinch-running duties because of a sprained ligament in his left hand, an injury he suffered diving into third base in his last minor league rehabilitation game Monday. . . . Catcher Mike Napoli caught the ninth inning, his first playing time since going on the disabled list because of a strained right hamstring July 28.

Bartolo Colon, on the disabled list because of an elbow irritation, gave up three runs and five hits in six innings of triple-A Salt Lake’s Pacific Coast League playoff opener against Sacramento, striking out four and walking none. Colon got a no-decision in Salt Lake’s 9-8 win. The right-hander is expected to be activated this weekend.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com