Fuentes is getting job done

Francisco Rodriguez has been perfect for the New York Mets.

The Angels let their closer go -- after he saved a record 62 games for them last season -- and Rodriguez is tied for the major league lead with 15 saves this season.

He is tied with, among others, the guy the Angels signed to replace him. Brian Fuentes has 15 saves too.

Rodriguez has not blown a save, and he has given up two earned runs and 14 hits in 25 2/3 innings. Fuentes has blown three saves, and he has given up 11 earned runs and 23 hits in 20 innings.

“I’m not going to bad-mouth a save,” Fuentes said. “I don’t like giving up runs. But, if we have a three-run lead and I give up two, we win. As long as you get it done, it’s a good thing.

“You can’t walk the tightrope all season. It will catch up to you.”

Fuentes has blown one save since May 1, earning 10 saves in the process. He has struck out 22 batters and walked seven this season.

His velocity has increased from the 88- to 89-mph range to 90 to 92 mph, Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“We’ve really seen his stuff pick up,” Scioscia said. “That’s been his track record, and you could see it coming. He’s getting more comfortable out there.”

Fuentes, a three-time All-Star who lives in Merced, campaigned for the Angels to sign him last winter.

They did, and he couldn’t be happier.

“It was never really a transition for me,” he said. “The personalities in this clubhouse are all pretty mellow. It fits my style.

“It’s been great. It’s everything I thought it would be.”

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Friend request

It’s a long way from Anaheim to Detroit’s Comerica Park -- about 2,000 miles -- but Kelvim Escobar said he had the support of the home fans in his return from shoulder surgery on Saturday.

No, the fans were not here, waving signs with his name and wearing jerseys with his uniform number.

The fans were back home, on the Internet.

“I got a lot of messages on Facebook from people in Orange County,” Escobar said.

For the curious: He has 486 friends -- as of Saturday.

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Kernels on fire

The Angels’ Class-A Cedar Rapids affiliate won 13 consecutive games before losing Friday.

The top prospect on the Kernels, right-hander Tyler Chatwood, is 3-2 with a 1.94 earned-run average. Chatwood, 19, the Angels’ top pick in last year’s draft, has given up 22 hits in 42 innings, with 26 walks and 39 strikeouts.

The Angels’ record for consecutive victories is 11, set in 1964. Pitcher Dean Chance, the Cy Young Award winner that year, and shortstop Jim Fregosi represented the Angels in the 1964 All-Star game.

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Roster move

The Angels moved pitcher Dustin Moseley to the 60-day disabled list, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster for Escobar, who was activated Saturday.

The move is a formality, as Moseley already has served 50 days on the disabled list.

The nerve irritation that has caused discomfort in Moseley’s arm has not resolved itself, and he is not throwing.

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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ANGELS TODAY

AT DETROIT

When: 10 a.m. PDT.

Where: Comerica Park.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 830, 1330.

Pitchers: Joe Saunders vs. Rick Porcello.

Update: Saunders had his shortest start of the season when the Tigers visited Anaheim. He lasted five innings and gave up five runs and seven hits, including a home run to Curtis Granderson and three hits to Magglio Ordonez, who is six for 15 against Saunders. Porcello, 20, jumped from Class A last year to the major leagues this season. He was 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA in his first four starts; he is 5-1 with a 2.10 ERA in six starts since then.

-- Bill Shaikin