Angels Showing That They Run Better on Regular

The Angels have good reserve players--they just end up in the starting lineup every day. They have solid relief pitchers--they just always seem to be in the game.

So it was no small matter that the Angels’ 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics Sunday in front of a crowd of 19,721 at the Oakland Coliseum involved players in the roles expected from them this season.

* Starting pitcher Omar Olivares went the distance, giving up five hits and striking out five, extending his run as the most efficient starter.

* Mo Vaughn had three hits and drove in the go-ahead run.

* Gary DiSarcina made more strides in his return from the disabled list with two hits and a run batted in.

* Garret Anderson had three hits and drove in the Angels’ first run.

* Troy Glaus had a two-run home run in the ninth, giving him four RBIs in the last three games after he had three in his previous 19 games.

Maybe those aren’t giant steps, but the Angels are creeping forward.

“When you put a team on the field, one that has your regulars out there, you look better, you feel better, it’s a better atmosphere,” Vaughn said. “It improves your attitude. We need to build on that.”

They will if they can get more pitching performances like Sunday’s. Preferably by somebody other than Olivares.

The Angels have two complete games this season, both by Olivares. He gave some rest to a bullpen that is more than a little overextended these days.

Olivares didn’t give up a hit through the first four innings and faced the minimum 12 batters because of two double plays.

Jason Giambi and John Jaha opened the fifth with singles, putting runners on the corners. Olivares almost got out of the jam, but Eric Chavez’s two-out single tied the score, 1-1.

“I didn’t feel I was very strong when the game began,” Olivares said. “But I know you don’t need to be strong to be successful. You need location and I had that. I was able to hit both corners.”

He did from his angle. Many Athletics had a different view, complaining that Olivares benefited from home plate umpire Eric Cooper’s strike zone.

“I would say it was generous,” Chavez said. “He was throwing the ball well today. You can’t fault him for not throwing the ball over the plate. It’s just tough to hit when you have to expand your zone. The umpire made it real tough on us. [Olivares] has good stuff, but not good enough to shut us down.”

Nevertheless, Olivares improved to 7-6 with a 3.27 earned-run average. The other four Angel starters have 15 victories combined.

“Even when he has lost games, he has given us the opportunity to win,” Vaughn said.

It took a few innings Sunday, but the Angels didn’t waste this one.

DiSarcina, who returned from the disabled list June 22, doubled to to lead off the seventh. Darin Erstad struck out and Randy Velarde walked, bringing up Vaughn.

The Athletics put on an exaggerated shift with three players on the right side of the infield. Vaughn lined a pitch over their heads into right field to score DiSarcina for a 2-1 lead.

“It’s not my job to worry about that shift, it’s my job to hit the ball hard,” said Vaughn, who was six for 15--all singles--with four RBIs in the series.

The Angels had 12 hits, giving them three consecutive games with 10 or more for the first time this season. Runs, though, were a little harder to come by. For those, the Angels--last in the American League in runs--needed a little help from the Athletics.

Center fielder Jason McDonald misplayed Anderson’s second-inning line drive into a double. Velarde, who had singled, scored from first.

Oakland relievers walked the bases loaded in the eighth. The Angels got one run, on DiSarcina’s groundout.

There was no handout in the ninth when Glaus hammered a 2-and-0 pitch over the left-field fence in the ninth to give the Angels a 5-1 lead. Olivares gave up a run in the ninth, then struck out Jaha to end the game.

“I don’t look at wins,” Olivares said. “There are a lot of things that happen out there that are out of my hands. I’ve been doing my job.”