Angels Live on the Edge

Adam Kennedy stayed down, face down, for a moment. He had to exhale. He had just dived headfirst and slammed his glove against second base, securing a victory precarious down to the final out.

The Angels flew to Oakland on Tuesday night more relieved than thrilled. They tiptoed across the high wire for nine innings without tumbling off. They survived, from a bases-loaded jam in the first inning to the potential winning run coming to bat in the ninth. They endured yet another injury, their starting pitcher pushed himself to his limit and perhaps beyond, and their patchwork bullpen hung tough.

And so it is on a winning note that the Angels open an 11-game stretch against their American League West rivals tonight. Jarrod Washburn extended his winning streak to 11 games and stopped the Angels’ losing streak at three, with Scot Shields and Ben Weber providing three innings of hitless relief and Garret Anderson hitting a home run in a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

All things considered, the standings are not bad: The Angels trail the Seattle Mariners by three games, and they are tied with the Athletics. Now comes a series against Oakland, a series against Seattle, then another against Oakland and another against Seattle.

“We’re not doomed if we don’t have a good stretch, but it certainly would hurt our chances,” said pitcher Kevin Appier, who starts tonight in Oakland.

Said Washburn: “We’re going to see what we’re made of. We have to play better baseball than we’ve been playing the last few weeks.”

The Angels are 7-5 in July and 15-13 since June 15.

Troy Percival is on the disabled list, and fellow relievers Dennis Cook and Al Levine preceded him there. Catcher Bengie Molina played for the first time in four days, but his strained hamstring still bothers him and he might not play tonight. Outfielder Darin Erstad also might not play; he walked gingerly around the clubhouse after doctors drained an infected blood blister on his left foot.

This is not the preferred way to arrive at such a critical juncture in the schedule. They will nonetheless play on, in so doing grateful they have Washburn.

For the ninth time this season, Washburn pitched after an Angel loss. For the seventh time, they won.

First baseman Scott Spiezio recalled playing for the A’s in 1998, when Kenny Rogers went 11-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. That “we’re gonna win” feeling the A’s had when Rogers pitched at home, Spiezio suggested, is the same feeling the Angels have when Washburn pitches anywhere.

Washburn (11-2) last lost April 13. He set a club record for most consecutive victories during a single season; Chuck Finley won 14 in a row in 1997-98.

This one was not easy, but with the bullpen staggering beneath the weight of all those injuries, Washburn talked Manager Mike Scioscia out of removing him after five innings and 111 pitches.

“I don’t usually win that argument,” Washburn said.

He was good for one more inning, as he promised. He made 126 pitches, more than in any game this season or last. He tossed a 4-2 lead to the bullpen.

Shields pitched two perfect innings. Weber, whose only other major league save came when he worked the last three innings of a 5-1 victory, worked the ninth for what he called “my first real save,” one day after reliever Scott Schoeneweis gave up two home runs in two innings and lost the game.

“You feel the added pressure,” Weber said. “It’s good to come out the next day and get the job done.”

He threw 20 pitches, 11 of them balls. He walked two. He fielded a comebacker and almost threw the ball over the head of Spiezio. And then he got Cristian Guzman to hit a ground ball up the middle, and Kennedy ranged beyond second base, shifted direction, threw his body at the base and tagged it for the force.

Game over, and whew.