Giant Relievers Use Familiar Formula

The Angels should know the formula. Get the lead, call in the bullpen, send in Rodriguez, close up shop.

That’s the way they’ve beaten teams throughout the postseason. Except this time the San Francisco Giants worked the routine on them. In their own house.

Felix Rodriguez played the hard-throwing role usually occupied by the Angels’ Francisco Rodriguez, starting the string of three effective Giant relievers that finished the Angels and Game 1 of the World Series with a 4-3 victory that ended with Robb Nen’s fifth save in October.

“That’s what they’ve been doing all year,” said Giant starter Jason Schmidt, who gave up all three Angel runs but still got the win. “They were outstanding. That’s why we’re where we’re at. These tight games like this, they come in and slam the door shut. That’s what this is all about.”

The Giants are now 7-0 when tied or holding the lead after seven innings.

Their only relief corps blowup of the postseason came when Dusty Baker sent in Manny Aybar with the Giants trailing the Atlanta Braves by one run in Game 3 of the division series. Aybar gave up two home runs, five runs in all, and Baker was almost shipped out right there.

Nothing wrong with Baker’s moves Saturday night. He got 1 1/3 perfect innings from Rodriguez, one walk in one inning from Tim Worrell and a 1-2-3 ninth from Nen, who has 10 postseason saves to rank him third behind Yankee Mariano Rivera’s 25 and the 15 of Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley.

The Angel bullpen did its part to keep it close, with Brendan Donnelly, Scott Schoeneweis and Ben Weber combining to throw 3 1/3 hitless innings in relief of Jarrod Washburn.

“Both teams have the ability to shorten a game,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “We know that coming in. We’ve been great at it all year, the Giants have been great at it.”

The real Bull-pen issues were upstairs in a booth on the stadium’s third floor. That’s the domain of Peter Bull, the Angels’ entertainment manager, a title that might be more easily described these days as the head monkey keeper.

If baseball’s postseason is all about second-guessing decisions, then here goes: Bull blew it. He went to the rally monkey too soon.

The monkey made his first appearance just before the bottom of the sixth inning, with the Angels trailing, 4-1. He produced his usual results: Troy Glaus homered to lead off the inning, Brad Fullmer walked and scored two outs later on a single by Adam Kennedy. They were right back in it.

But asking the monkey to go four full innings was too much. It was like a manager bringing in his closer to start the eighth.

The monkey appeared in two skits, making cameos in place of a dinosaur in “Jurassic Park” and Tom Cruise in “Risky Business.” He jumped around in the eighth and the ninth.

Now, Bull has some steadfast rules he must follow: the monkey can’t appear before the sixth inning and the Angels must be trailing or the score tied. He’ll consult with others around him, such as the Jumbotron director, if he’s having doubts.

“But ultimately, I’ve got to make the call,” Bull said.

Listening to Bull explain his decision sounded a lot like Scioscia defending his use of Troy Percival in the opening-game loss of the Yankee series.

“Honestly, it sounds strange, but we’re sticking with what we’ve done during the regular season,” Bull said. “There’s a little more pressure, but it’s basically the same baseball game.”

After all that work, there must be some doubt about the monkey’s availability for Game 2. “If we need him again, we’ll use him,” Bull said. “I don’t think he’s worn out. I wouldn’t say that.”

Despite his efforts, he couldn’t get the job done Saturday.

“If it’s got them a few wins, that’s great, but I’ve yet to see him get a hit or throw a strike or get somebody out,” Giant first baseman J.T. Snow said.

“The rally monkey doesn’t talk,” Nen said. “It’s the people screaming and yelling. So you block out the people.

“You go out there and focus and you don’t hear the noise at all. You’re really focused.

“When you need to make a pitch, your focus gets higher, your adrenaline gets higher. You can’t make a mistake.”

Rodriguez said the big crowds at Pacific Bell Park all season helped them prepare for the red-clad, noise-sticks-banging throng at Edison Field.

“We’re used to playing in front of a sellout crowd,” Rodriguez said. “It’s no big deal.”

The Angels, on the other hand, aren’t accustomed to facing these National League relievers. The Angels and Giants didn’t face each other in interleague play this year.

“You always like to feel comfortable facing guys and knowing what they’ve got,” Tim Salmon said. “When you’re facing guys coming out of the pen throwing 94, 95 [miles per hour], I mean those aren’t exactly guys you want to be giving strikes to. It makes it tough.

“Hopefully they make a mistake and leave something out over the plate you can handle.”

Don’t expect it, not the way the Giants have been going.

“The bullpen’s been doing a great job,” Giant catcher Benito Santiago said.

“Especially Rodriguez. Rodriguez, coming up and throwing heat, and Worrell ... and Robb Nen, everybody knows what he can do.”

At least everyone who has seen it knows. They’re good enough to get the better of a potent Angel lineup -- and one magical monkey.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at: j.a.adande@latimes.com.