They’re Playing a Wild Card, 9-3

What the Angels polished on the road they brought home to Edison Field. There is no denying the look of a contender.

Signs were littered throughout the Angels’ 9-3 victory against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. The only thing that didn’t have the feel of a pennant race was the crowd of 18,498.

The Angels had seven players drive in runs. They scored six runs with two outs. They got a meat-and-potatoes performance from pitcher Pat Rapp.

This was the type of baseball the Angels had played in winning five of seven road games against Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. That successful trip, followed by Tuesday’s victory, left the Angels 5 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race.

“Early in the season, it didn’t look like we had a chance,” said Rapp, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. “With the way our hitters are coming around, I really think we have chance at this thing.”

Of course, Rapp is in his first year with the Angels. As any of their fans can tell you, August rumblings usually end in September crumblings.

Which probably explained the small crowd and why the team’s veteran players are approaching the recent success with cautious optimism.

“We can’t sit back and think about what a great road trip we had,” Tim Salmon said. “Yes, we played well against two very good clubs. But we have to focus on playing the rest of the season like that.”

They played one game like that.

Scott Spiezio had three hits and five other Angels had two in a 15-hit attack. But the timing of the hits was impressive.

The Angels looked nothing like the team that was batting .221 with runners in scoring position and two out entering the game.

Adam Kennedy had a run-scoring single with two out in the third. Garret Anderson had a run-scoring single with two out in the fourth and another with two out in the sixth. Scott Spiezio followed Anderson with a two-run double in the sixth.

The Angels were four for six with runners in scoring position and two out.

“Our pitching has carried us all year,” Darin Erstad said. “Our bullpen needs a little rest for a stretch run. If we can have some days like this, our pitching will pick us up on other days. Then I like our chances.”

Troy Glaus set things in motion with two out in the first with a towering drive over the center-field fence, making him the fourth Angel to have back-to-back seasons with 30 or more home runs.

The Angels had to work harder in the second. Spiezio led off with a double and Salmon extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single to right-center to score Spiezio for a 2-0 lead.

After Kennedy singled, the Angels managed a run without a hit. Jorge Fabregas’ sacrifice moved the runners up and Orlando Palmeiro’s sacrifice fly to right scored Salmon for a 3-0 lead.

“It’s nice to get some runs,” Rapp said. “It’s a little easier to pitch with a big lead.”

Rapp was nearly perfect for five innings. He didn’t give up a hit until Royce Clayton led off the sixth by slapping a drive that past shortstop David Eckstein nearly snagged. The White Sox eventually loaded the bases with no outs.

But Rapp (5-9) got out of the jam. Jose Valentin grounded into a double play, scoring Clayton, and Magglio Ordonez then grounded out to end the inning.

Rapp went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits.

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