Santana’s stuff happens to A’s

OAKLAND -- Ervin Santana threw seven innings Saturday night, and in each one, the right-hander displayed closer-quality stuff, mixing a 96-mph fastball with a vicious slider and changeup.

“No doubt, he has the stuff to be one of the best pitchers in the American League, and he’s been terrific all year,” Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez said. “He’s a power pitcher with a great slider, a great fastball. His stuff is electric.”

This season, it’s been lights out.

Santana showed his All-Star worthiness again Saturday, allowing five hits in seven shutout innings and striking out 10, a season high, to lead the Angels to a 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics in McAfee Coliseum.

Spotting his fastball and using a darting slider to record most of his strikeouts, Santana improved to 11-3 with a 3.34 earned-run average this season after going 7-14 with a 5.76 ERA in 2007.

The 25-year-old has also built a strong resume against Oakland, improving to 9-1 with a 1.36 ERA in 14 career games against the Angels’ division rivals.

“He’s the same every time,” A’s second baseman Mark Ellis said. “For whatever reason, he has our number. It seems like whatever we’re looking for, he throws something else. Tonight it was a lot of sliders, and you expect a guy who throws that hard to use his fastball more. He keeps you off balance.”

Santana’s only real trouble came in the seventh, when he gave up singles to Ellis and Daric Barton and both advanced on Jack Hannahan’s groundout. But Santana struck out Donnie Murphy with a slider and Kurt Suzuki with a slider in the dirt to preserve a 3-0 lead.

“I just tried to concentrate a little more and strike everybody out,” Santana said.

Carlos Gonzalez’s run-scoring double off reliever Scot Shields trimmed the Angels’ lead to 3-1 in the eighth, but the Angels countered with Erick Aybar’s single, stolen base and Vladimir Guerrero’s RBI single in the ninth to make it 4-1.

Rodriguez, with a runner on second, then struck out Suzuki with a changeup for his major league-leading 37th save -- and the Angels’ 56th victory, a franchise record for wins before the All-Star break. They lead the second-place A’s by five games in the AL West.

Rodriguez is on pace for 64 saves, which would shatter Bobby Thigpen’s single-season record 57, set in 1990.

“It’s been an amazing run, but I’m not thinking about records,” he said. “I just want to stay consistent and finish strong.”

Juan Rivera, making his fourth start in a row after spending most of the first half on the bench, contributed to the Angels’ first two scoring rallies, including a two-run first inning that featured some aggressive baserunning.

Aybar walked with one out against starter Dana Eveland, and Torii Hunter hit a two-out single to center. Aybar took third on the hit, and Hunter alertly took second on Gonzalez’s throw to third.

A wild pitch allowed Aybar to score and, after Rivera drew a full-count walk, Howie Kendrick’s RBI single made it 2-0.

Maicer Izturis led off the seventh with a single and took second on Aybar’s two-strike sacrifice bunt. Guerrero was intentionally walked, and Hunter struck out. But Rivera lined an RBI single to left for a 3-0 lead, giving him seven hits (three of them home runs) and eight RBIs in 20 at-bats in six starts since July 2.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com