Angel Victory All Can Share

Bartolo Colon earned a victory and a save for the Angels on Tuesday, no small contribution in these final weeks of a tense season.

On a sweltering evening, Colon pitched brilliantly, carrying a shutout into the seventh inning of a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. And, days after Jose Guillen feared he might miss a frighteningly large chunk of the remaining schedule, the slugger returned to the lineup after an urgent consultation with Colon’s trainer and physical therapist.

“He’s got the magic hands,” Guillen said.

The Angels won their fourth consecutive game and closed within 1 1/2 games of the Oakland Athletics in the American League West. The A’s must face Pedro Martinez today.

Guillen, sent home from the Angels’ last trip for conventional medical tests, got a hit in the team’s first game back in town. Everyone on the home team got at least one hit, including a two-run home run by Chone Figgins and a solo shot by Garret Anderson.

Colon (14-11) gave up two runs over seven innings and won for the ninth time in 12 decisions. Francisco Rodriguez worked a perfect eighth, setting a franchise record for strikeouts by a reliever with 110. Troy Percival got the final three outs for his 27th save.

“It’s very easy to get caught up in being tired and the long season,” Colon said through an interpreter. “You need that extra push, because the playoffs are right around the corner.”

Colon shut out the Blue Jays on four hits over the first six innings and rose to those rare occasions when Toronto put a runner into scoring position.

In the second inning, with two on and two out, Colon struck out Gabe Gross. In the third, with two on and two out, he got Carlos Delgado to pop up on a 96 mph fastball. In the sixth, with a runner on third and one out, he struck out Delgado and got Alexis Rios to fly out.

The Angels amassed a 5-0 lead in the meantime. In the seventh inning, on Colon’s 100th pitch, Gregg Zaun poked a two-run homer inside the foul pole in right field.

The Angels gave Colon $51 million for games like this, at times like this. In turn, Colon invested some of that money to retain the services of Angel Presinao Done, a physical therapist acclaimed in the Dominican Republic for his work with the likes of Martinez and Juan Gonzalez.

So, after the Angels sent Guillen home because of what they described as a swollen right wrist, he went looking for Presinao.

Guillen, with 101 runs batted in but mired in a five-for-29 slump, acknowledged he had not shared all his pains with the Angels. His wrists hurt, but so did his hands, legs, feet and neck. He had battled, silently, for almost three weeks.

“I didn’t feel any power in my body,” he said. “It was something I was hiding for a few weeks. Sometimes I have a little bit of a hard head.”

The Angels’ doctors, checking in part for carpal tunnel syndrome, ran a blood test for which Guillen said he has yet to receive results. He then went to Presinao, who told Guillen he had a “circulation problem” and administered therapy Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

“He’s unbelievable. He figured out what it was right away,” Guillen said. “I give all the credit to him.”

Colon said he was thrilled that Presinao could help Guillen. And his day was not done: Not even the all-day therapy session with Guillen would keep Presinao from his late-night training appointment with Colon.

“When I get home,” Colon said with a laugh, “he’ll be waiting for me.”