A Familiar Script in Angel Loss : Baseball: Langston walks Maldonado intentionally, then gives up homer to Olerud to key Blue Jays’ 7-2 victory.

If the Toronto Blue Jays win the American League East championship, they will have the Angels to thank for nudging them out of a slump.

For the second successive game, the Blue Jays foiled the Angels’ strategy of issuing an intentional walk to create a more favorable pitching matchup. And for the second successive game, timely hitting enabled Toronto to defeat one of the Angels’ 17-game winners and distance itself from the Boston Red Sox.

This time, John Olerud’s three-run home run after an intentional walk to Candy Maldonado capped a six-run fifth inning and carried Toronto to a 7-2 rout of the Angels before 19,251 at Anaheim Stadium.

Just as walking Pat Tabler in the 10th inning Tuesday to bring up Pat Borders backfired and set up Borders’ game-winning homer, walking Maldonado Wednesday to pit Olerud against Mark Langston (17-8) also failed. The two hadn’t met before Wednesday, but Olerud read Langston well enough to launch a 2-and-0 fastball into the right-field seats and give Toronto a 4-5 record on its West Coast trip.

The Blue Jays’ lead over Boston stands at 2 1/2 games.

“I’ll take this trip just the way it ended today,” said Gene Tenace, the Blue Jays’ interim manager while Cito Gaston recovers from back problems. “Considering everything that happened, four wins is reasonable.”

Olerud said he wasn’t surprised to see the Angels walk Maldonado, who was five for 14 against Langston in his career.

“I don’t think it was a bad move on their part. I think I would have done the same thing,” Olerud said.

“Langston was pitching me tough, and I just got ahead and got a fastball. I didn’t know it was out until it cleared the fence. I felt I’d hit the ball better (Tuesday) night against (Jim) Abbott, and it didn’t go out, but I heard the ball flies out of here in day games.”

Langston never established a good rhythm, but he got by on his breaking pitches while the Angels scratched out runs in the first and third innings off Jimmy Key (16-11). But by the fifth, Langston could no longer fool the Blue Jays, who produced three singles and Roberto Alomar’s two-run double before Olerud’s homer.

“A whole lot of things weren’t really right today. I just pitched badly,” Langston said. “I just got behind to Olerud and had to come in with a strike, and he got it. He’s a decent hitter, and any time you get behind and have to come in, you’re giving yourself an opportunity to get hit hard, and I did.”

Like teammates Chuck Finley and Abbott before him, Langston lost his opportunity to win 20 games. However, Langston said he’s more concerned with what the Angels still can gain than with what he already has lost.

“Realistically, you have to be more worried about getting out of last place than individual goals,” Langston said. “Would it have been nice? Yes, but you’ve got to win 18 before you win 20.”

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers picked the Blue Jays to win their divisional title.

“I think that was a big game Toronto won (Tuesday) night,” he said. “They had maybe the best pitching performance of the year against them and they win in 10 (innings). That’s a confidence-builder.

“They come out today and beat us, and they’re building momentum. In that kind of race, all it takes is a short momentum run to push you over the top. Boston right now is in a downer, and Toronto is in an upper. . . . Toronto has got speed plus power. They’re a very well-balanced team.”