Angel Pulse Still Beats

The Angels’ sluggish pursuit of the Oakland Athletics in the American League West picked up some speed Sunday afternoon, with Bartolo Colon and Chone Figgins anchoring an 11-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Colon pitched seven shutout innings, the speedy Figgins created the biggest stir among the 41,932 at Angel Stadium with a stand-up, three-run triple, and the Angels pushed their September record above .500 at 6-5.

But it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Angels must do more than jog in place over the season’s final three weeks to surpass the Athletics, who in recent years have been as hard to catch as a cheetah.

Though they have stumbled a bit since the end of August, improving to 5-6 after a victory over Cleveland on Sunday, the A’s are 75-36 in September since their run of four consecutive playoff appearances began in 2000.

Because the wild card appears a longshot for the Angels, who trail Boston by five games, winning the AL West may be their only route to the postseason.

But the Angels have made little headway in the division standings over the last month besides overtaking Texas for second place.

Their deficit in the division, which stood at 1 1/2 games Aug. 13, is two games heading into a season-ending stretch of 20 games against division rivals that includes six against the first-place A’s.

The Angels can take some solace in the second-half surge of their ace, who has single-handedly bolstered their bid for a second playoff appearance in three years. Colon (15-11) limited his former teammates to six hits and one walk Sunday, utilizing precise command of all his pitches.

“Every pitch I could throw for a strike,” Colon, who struck out six, said through an interpreter. “When I really needed to throw a strike, I did not necessarily have to go to my fastball. I could go to any of my pitches and be able to throw it on either side of the plate.”

Garret Anderson’s two-run double off Jose Contreras (12-9) down the left-field line in the second inning gave the Angels a 6-0 lead and provided more than enough support for Colon, who saved a run in the third on a fine defensive play.

With Joe Crede on third base and one out, Colon fielded Timo Perez’s grounder and charged toward the plate to tag Crede coming home. Colon said he felt “a little pinching” in his left shoulder on the tag, possibly aggravating an injury that he suffered years ago.

But the right-hander stayed in the game four more innings, throwing a total of 95 pitches, and did not think the sensation would bother him by his next start. Relievers Kevin Gregg and Scott Dunn each contributed a scoreless inning.

“You can’t ask for much more from Bartolo,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“The play he made defensively, the way we got a lead, and he kept going out there and putting up zeros so we could expand on -- these are the things that Bartolo’s brought wherever he’s been,” he said.

Colon, 9-3 since the All-Star break, attributed a large part of his recent success to throwing off the first base side of the rubber instead of the middle of the rubber.

“It’s made a big difference in running the fastball in and out,” said Colon, who made the switch during a victory over Toronto on July 9. “It gives me a better angle and better perception as to where I’m throwing the ball.”

Figgins put a charge into a crowd that pushed the Angels over the 3-million mark for the second consecutive season with a triple to right in the seventh that made it 10-0. Adam Kennedy’s infield single brought home Figgins to complete the scoring.

“Figgie’s instant offense,” Scioscia said. “Although he doesn’t have the power of some guys on the bench, this guy is always in scoring position. He’s an exciting player.”

Said Figgins: “I can make things happen.”