Angels End Trip on Good Note

If fans are a bit lukewarm on the Angels this year, one reason might be this: No one knows how good they are. They beat up on a bunch of bad teams, but can they beat the good ones?

It’s difficult to tell, since there are so few good teams in the American League. Of the 14 teams in the league, five have winning records, the Angels included. They have not played the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees, and they have lost six of seven to the Seattle Mariners.

So Sunday’s 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins injected the Angels with a dose of confidence for the long flight home and the more challenging schedule ahead. The Angels had lost four of six games against the Twins before Sunday, when Aaron Sele and a cast of understudies stole the show.

“It’s good for us to win these close ones,” Tim Salmon said. “We really haven’t had much of a challenge the past month. We’ve played pretty well and won pretty easily at times. Against Minnesota, every game seems to be a one-run game. That’s good for us.”

The Angels set a team record for victories in May, but the Twins were the only May opponent with a winning record. This month brings a series against the Cincinnati Reds, another against the St. Louis Cardinals and two against the Dodgers, and to win those the Angels will need performances comparable to the ones they got Sunday.

They got an outstanding outing from Sele, who reached the eighth inning for the first time in 11 starts since joining the Angels.

Sele staggered at the start, walking two in the first inning. The Twins did not score, but Sele escaped a bases-loaded jam.

Afterward, Sele made his own adjustments, without a word from pitching coach Bud Black.

“When you walk two guys on nine pitches, it’s a pretty simple thing to figure out,” Sele said.

“If it doesn’t get better, you’re not going to be out there very long.”

In his last start, he gave up 11 hits in five innings. In this one, with better command of his fastball and much better command of his curve, he gave up one hit in the first six innings, improving his record against the Twins to 15-3. Troy Percival, who has given up no earned runs in 35 innings against the Twins, pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

The Angels won with a 12-hit attack that featured three hits from Garret Anderson and Orlando Palmeiro and two from Jorge Fabregas.

Palmeiro, a reserve outfielder, came within a home run of hitting for the cycle and lifted his average to .347. Fabregas, the backup catcher, boosted his average from .143 to .179.

“I feel great,” Fabregas said. “You feel like you’re part of the team.”