Angels Are on a Roll

The Angels finally built some momentum for the first time in weeks, winning five of six in Chicago and Toronto and completing a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays with a crisp 5-2 victory Sunday in front of 17,573 at SkyDome. Now they’ll have three days to rest and wonder if they’ll get their groove back when play resumes Thursday against Boston.

Could the All-Star break have come at a worse time?

The Angels made a similar run to end the first half last season, winning five straight over Kansas City and Minnesota going into the All-Star game, but they lost the first five games after the break, to Baltimore and Tampa Bay, starting a tailspin in which they went 5-20.

“It’s kind of tough to stop playing now,” said second baseman Adam Kennedy, who singled, doubled, tripled and scored two runs Sunday and is hitting .366 in his last 25 games.

“Your body could use a few days off, but at the same time, you want to keep swinging. I’ll do that on my own.”

Angel pitcher John Lackey provided another solid start, giving up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking none, to improve to 7-8.

A bullpen relay of Scot Shields (1 1/3 scoreless innings), Francisco Rodriguez (hitless eighth) and Troy Percival (one-two-three ninth for career save No. 298) sent the Angels toward their various destinations feeling good about themselves.

“We’re going into the break with some momentum,” said Lackey, who is 4-1 in his last seven starts and has given up two earned runs or fewer in each of his last six starts. “We played well on this trip, and that’s huge. You can rest a lot easier when you come off some wins.”

Is Lackey concerned the Angels might lose their edge?

“There could be a little of that feeling,” the right-hander said.

“We went into the break last year playing good. We didn’t come out of it very good.”

Much of the 2003 slide could be attributed to the season-ending injury third baseman Troy Glaus suffered in the fifth game after the break, and injuries to shortstop David Eckstein and Darin Erstad.

Though Glaus is sidelined by another shoulder injury this season, the Angels are virtually back to full strength, with their offense scoring 47 runs in the six games on this trip and blending timely hits with good situational hitting, the rotation providing quality starts and the bullpen beginning to jell.

“You can’t blame the All-Star break last year,” said Percival, who recorded his 15th save Sunday. “Every team has a break. We just didn’t play well when we came off the break.... Yeah, we’re playing good now, but some of these guys who have been playing every day need the three days off.”

Manager Mike Scioscia concurred.

“These guys have played their hearts out in the first half,” he said. “We’re not where we want to be in the standings [2 1/2 games behind Texas]. Some important things are happening for us to give us the consistency we need, but physically and mentally, these guys definitely need a break. You need to step back and let some air out, no matter how well you’re playing.”

The score was tied, 2-2, after three innings Sunday, the Angels scoring on Erstad’s run-scoring single in the second and Kennedy’s triple and Chone Figgins’ double in the third. The Blue Jays scored twice in the second on Carlos Delgado’s home run and Chris Gomez’s run-scoring single.

Kennedy doubled to lead off the fifth and scored on Garret Anderson’s two-out single for a 3-2 lead, and consecutive singles by Erstad, Jeff DaVanon, Bengie Molina and Kennedy tacked on two more runs in the sixth.

Kennedy struggled for much of the first half, but his recent surge pushed his average from .222 on June 13 to .264 Sunday.

“We’re forcing the action a bit, pressuring clubs more, and getting good pitching,” Scioscia said. “This is a good way to finish before the break, but we also know the challenge ahead of us.”