Angels Making Winning a Habit

Adam Riggs took his spot in left field Saturday night before the first pitch, and suddenly the Angels weren’t the Angels anymore.

Not because of a second-half slide that had all but eliminated them from playoff contention.

Not because they went with a largely second-string lineup that more closely resembled the triple-A Salt Lake Stingers.

The Angels weren’t the Angels anymore because Riggs wore a jersey spelled A-N-G-E-E-S across the front.

The laugh track, which started in the Angel dugout after teammates informed Riggs a half-inning later, was quickly placed on pause after the Detroit Tigers bolted to a five-run lead at Edison Field.

But after Scott Spiezio’s three-run triple keyed a rally during what developed into an easy 11-7 victory before 42,337, the Angels could again chuckle over the monumental manufacturing gaffe.

“We’ve had some kindergartners chip in and do some sewing for us and some spelling,” Manager Mike Scioscia quipped afterward.

The victory was anything but elementary. Spiezio’s smash past first baseman Carlos Pena down the right-field line capped a six-run fifth inning for the Angels, who have won four consecutive games and five of six to creep back to within five games of .500.

Garret Anderson collected singles in his first three at-bats to tie Brian Downing’s club record of 1,588 hits, equaling the mark in the seventh when he won a footrace with Pena to first base for an infield single. Anderson had a chance to break the record in the eighth but reached on a fielder’s choice and later downplayed the accomplishment.

“In my eyes, I haven’t broken any record yet,” said Anderson, in his ninth season with the Angels. “A tie’s a tie.”

The comeback saved Angel starting pitcher Aaron Sele from what appeared to be certain defeat after he had sunk his teammates into a five-run hole in the third inning.

But the Angel hitters responded with 11 runs and the team’s American League-leading bullpen contributed 4 1/3 scoreless innings before Detroit slugger Dmitri Young slammed a meaningless two-run homer off Francisco Rodriguez with two out in the ninth.

The Angels did the brunt of their offensive damage during the fifth, when they sent 10 batters to the plate.

Riggs led off with a walk and went to third on Adam Kennedy’s ground-rule double. One out later, David Eckstein ripped a two-run single to left to put the Angels within 5-3. Eric Owens then singled through the hole between third base and shortstop, moving Eckstein to third, before Anderson scored Eckstein with a single to center to make it 5-4.

Shawn Wooten walked on four pitches, then Spiezio delivered his bases-clearing triple to the delight of one of the loudest crowds of the season.

Not all of the developments were so pleasant for the Angels.

Kevin Witt’s sharp grounder struck Angel reliever Ben Weber on the right thumb, and Weber was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center for X-rays.

But it was hard to suppress a smile given all that went right.