Angels fly solo in win

The last time Joe Saunders pitched, Friday night against the Texas Rangers, his teammates backed him with eight runs and 16 hits, and the Angels lost.

With Saunders on the mound again Thursday night, his teammates backed him with three runs and five hits, they struck out 11 times, and they had only one at-bat with runners in scoring position.

And the Angels won.

Funny game, this baseball.

Saunders threw seven shutout innings, giving up only four hits, and three of his team’s hits were home runs, as the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0, in Safeco Field.

Juan Rivera, Gary Matthews Jr. and Howie Kendrick hit homers, Scot Shields threw a scoreless eighth, and closer Brian Fuentes added a scoreless ninth for his 11th save, as the Angels moved two games behind first-place Texas in the American League West.

“Between [Wednesday] night and [Thursday] night we had, what, eight hits,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Fortunately tonight, they were the type of hits you get a point with. We talked before the game about slugging percentage; I guess the guys took it to heart.”

Saunders had his worst game of the season in Texas, giving up seven runs and eight hits, including three homers, in 5 1/3 innings of a 10-8 loss to the Rangers.

Thursday night, the left-hander was almost untouchable, striking out three, walking three and allowing only one runner to reach third base to improve to 6-2 and lower his earned-run average to 3.17.

“I could throw strikes when I needed to, and I could throw strikes with more than one pitch when I was ahead or behind in the count,” Saunders said, when asked about the difference between the Texas and Seattle games.

“In Texas, I fell behind guys and threw strikes, but they weren’t quality strikes.

“It was the end of a tough [3-4] trip. I knew I needed to throw some zeros up there.”

Power has not been a strength of this Angels team -- they began Thursday ranked 13th in the league with 30 home runs, and of their 378 hits, 272, or 72%, were singles. But they broke out some heavy lumber against the Mariners.

Rivera, moved to the third spot in the lineup in place of the injured Bobby Abreu, hit a two-out, solo home run to left field, his third of the season, off Seattle starter Erik Bedard in the first inning.

Matthews, a switch-hitter who had only 18 at-bats from the right side this season, lined a third-inning homer over the left-field wall, his first of the season, off the left-handed Bedard for a 2-0 lead.

And Kendrick, struggling with a .239 average, drove his fourth homer of the season into the upper deck in left field off reliever Garrett Olson in the eighth for a 3-0 lead.

“That ball was killed,” Scioscia said of Kendrick’s shot. “He’s been searching for it. He’s having better at-bats here and there, but he’s not at the comfort level he will be. When he gets there, he’ll string together a bunch of hits, because this guy can swing the bat.”

Saunders’ only real trouble came in the fifth, when he gave up singles to Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt to open the inning, but the Mariners played themselves right out of a potential rally.

After Franklin Gutierrez fouled off a first-pitch bunt attempt, Seattle Manager Don Wakamatsu scrapped the sacrifice and let his No. 9 hitter swing away.

Bad move: Gutierrez popped out to first base. Ichiro Suzuki then grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out, putting runners on first and third.

Saunders picked off Suzuki at first, and Angels first baseman Kendry Morales fired to Kendrick at second, catching Suzuki in a rundown.

Lopez broke for home, and Kendrick threw to the plate in time to catch Lopez in a rundown.

Catcher Mike Napoli threw to speedy third baseman Chone Figgins, who chased Lopez down the line and applied the tag to end the inning.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com