Loss is a small bump on the road for Angels

BALTIMORE -- A 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Sunday did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the Angels going into their biggest test of the season, seven straight games, beginning tonight, in Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.

“Another good series against the Red Sox would obviously boost our confidence, but our confidence is very high right now,” said Joe Saunders, who will pitch in Boston on Wednesday. “We’re playing well. I believe we’re the team to beat right now.”

Fans in the New England states and many around the nation would disagree, no matter how good the record of the Angels, who are a major league-best 64-40 after suffering only their second loss in 11 games.

Boston has won two World Series titles in four years and nine straight playoff games against the Angels, and the Red Sox appear every bit as formidable this season, despite the distractions caused by the latest Manny Ramirez soap opera.

And when the Angels leave America’s most antiquated -- some say outdated -- stadium, awaiting them Thursday will be one of the hottest teams in baseball, a Yankees club that took an eight-game win streak into Sunday night’s game against the Red Sox.

The Angels are bracing themselves for another round of media queries about how they measure up to the Red Sox and Yankees, whether they’re good enough to beat them in the playoffs, but Saunders turned the tables on the first of those questions Sunday.

“Those other teams should be answering questions about us,” Saunders said. “Hey, you’ve got the Angels coming in, they have the best record in baseball, they’re playing great baseball.

“I think they should worry about us a little too. Obviously, the Red Sox and Yankees are good clubs, but I think we can play with anybody and beat anybody.”

Torii Hunter wasn’t on those Angels teams that were swept by the Red Sox in the 2004 and 2007 division series, but he was on the team that won two of three games at Fenway Park in late April and swept a three-game series against Boston in Anaheim on July 18-20.

The center fielder was a little taken aback by a question about whether another good showing in Fenway would boost the Angels’ chances against the Red Sox should the teams meet again in October.

“I thought we did that already,” Hunter said. “We showed this is a different team, a different year. I wasn’t part of the past, but this year, I see nothing but talent on this team. Whatever is in the past, leave it there.”

That’s probably a good spot for Sunday’s loss, in which Ervin Santana (11-5) was peppered for five runs and seven hits in five innings, the fourth shaky outing by an Angels starter in five games, evidence perhaps that a rotation that carried the team all season might be cracking a bit.

Angels starters still lead the major leagues with 51 wins and 660 1/3 innings pitched and rank third in the AL with a 3.86 earned-run average, but they’ve combined to give up 21 earned runs in 25 innings of the last five games.

“I don’t know if you can expect a rotation to do what these guys did for all of the first half -- it seemed like every turn around, they gave us a good start,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “But they’ll get back on board.”

Baltimore scored twice in the first on Nick Markakis’ RBI double and Luke Scott’s bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, and Guillermo Quiroz hit a two-run single in the third. Jay Payton’s triple and Quiroz’s RBI single gave the Orioles a 5-1 lead in the sixth.

An Angels offense that had amassed 31 runs and 38 hits, including seven homers, in its previous three games managed only two runs and seven hits in six innings off left-hander Garrett Olson. The Angels bounced into three double plays and went two for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Pinch-hitter Garret Anderson’s RBI single in the seventh pulled the Angels to within 5-2, and they had runners on first and third with one out, but reliever Chad Bradford got Chone Figgins to ground into a 3-6-3 double play, ending the inning.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com