Toronto Blisters Valdes

Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said the team’s decision to pursue pitcher Ismael Valdes this winter was “a no-brainer,” and four quality starts in Valdes’ first five games provided affirmation for Scioscia and General Manager Bill Stoneman.

“The bottom line is Bill made the right inquiries to make sure Ismael was in good shape, and [Valdes] worked hard to regain the strength in his shoulder,” Scioscia said. “He’s come out and proved everybody who had confidence in him right.”

The Toronto Blue Jays put a dent in that confidence Tuesday night, though, hammering Valdes for seven runs on 11 hits in six innings of a 9-3 victory over the Angels before 15,904 in Edison Field.

Toronto first baseman Carlos Delgado, the American League’s home run leader, enjoyed his fifth multiple-homer game of the season and 27th of his career, smashing No. 15 off Valdes in the fourth inning and No. 16 off reliever Lou Pote in the seventh.

Raul Mondesi and Brad Fullmer each added three hits to pace a 15-hit attack, and pitcher Chris Michalak gave up one run on four hits in seven innings to help the Blue Jays end a six-game losing streak and drop the Angels’ record against left-handed starters to 6-10 this season.

After shredding Detroit for a season-high 14 runs and 16 hits Sunday, the Angel offense was stuffed back into the ice box, managing three runs on seven hits and scoring all of their runs in the final three innings, long after the outcome had been decided.

And after a flawless defensive game Sunday, Angel center fielder Darin Erstad lost a routine fly ball in the twilight in the third inning Tuesday night, paving the way for three Blue Jay runs.

“We didn’t do anything very well,” Scioscia said. “Some defensive breakdowns affected our pitching, and going into the middle innings, we had one hit off their pitcher. . . . This was certainly not a momentum-builder for us.”

Or Valdes. The Blue Jays took an aggressive approach against the right-hander, swinging often at the first pitch and stroking his outside pitches the other way. Valdes’ velocity was good, but his curve was a little flat.

“When you don’t have your good stuff, you have to battle through it,” Valdes said. “You’re going to have good days and bad days. When you have a bad day, you have to find a way to get hitters out.”

Michalak’s day didn’t seem extraordinary by any means. He topped out at 84 mph on the Edison Field speed gun and was hardly overpowering.

“He didn’t do anything spectacular--he just changed speeds well, moved the ball around and kept us off-balance,” Scioscia said. “But we seem to have an issue with soft-throwing left-handers. It’s hard to explain, but these types of pitchers have given us trouble since I’ve been here.”

Valdes took a 2.81 earned-run average into the game and had not given up more than three runs or eight hits in any of his five previous starts. But through three innings Tuesday night, the Blue Jays had as many hits (nine) as they had outs (nine).

One hit was not Valdes’ fault. With two on and two out in the third, Fullmer lifted a fly to center field that should have been the final out of the inning.

Erstad appeared camped under the ball but lost it in an odd sky that seemed to contain a little red, white and gray, the second time this season he has lost track of a fly ball in Edison Field. The ball fell about 10 feet behind Erstad for an RBI double, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead. Tony Batista then lined a two-run single to center to make it 4-0.

“That didn’t affect me at all,” Valdes said of Erstad’s misplay. “That guy always gives the best effort you can give. That’s baseball.”

If those first three Blue Jay runs were tainted, the next three were pasted. Alex Gonzalez sparked a two-out rally in the fourth with a double to left and scored on Mondesi’s bloop double to right.

Delgado then ripped Valdes’ first pitch, sending it an estimated 427 feet off the fake rock formation beyond the left-center field wall for a two-run homer and a 7-0 lead.

“Ismael wasn’t quite as crisp as he has been, but I don’t think he pitched as bad as his line score said,” Scioscia said. “Over the long haul, I think he’ll do a great job for us this year.”