Angels Don’t Miss a Step in 6-2 Win

If the Angels were distracted by all the commotion in the manager’s office in the hour leading up to Sunday night’s game, a series of meetings that resulted in the suspension of left fielder Jose Guillen for the rest of the season, it sure didn’t show.

John Lackey threw seven superb innings, giving up two runs and four hits, and the odd couple of 6-foot-5, 240-pound designated hitter Troy Glaus and 5-7, 165-pound shortstop David Eckstein each contributed home runs to lead the Angels to a 6-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics in front of a sellout crowd of 43,512 in Angel Stadium.

The Angels’ second consecutive win in a three-game series against the A’s moved them within one game of Oakland in the American League West with seven games to play -- four at third-place Texas beginning tonight, and three to close the season at Oakland this weekend.

“We’ve been through so much in this organization; we’ve gone through times like these,” first baseman Darin Erstad said, reflecting on Guillen’s suspension. “You either fold up and let it affect you or come together and become stronger. ... It’s very unfortunate. I feel bad for Jose. But sometimes things like this can bring you together as a team.”

Whether it was the return of those thunderous noise sticks for the Angels’ final home game of the regular season or the loss of one of the team’s top hitters, the Angels seemed energized.

Chone Figgins stole third in the first inning and scored on Glaus’ single; Eckstein stole second in the second inning and scored on Adam Riggs’ double; center fielder Garret Anderson crashed into the wall to catch Erubiel Durazo’s sixth-inning drive, and two potential replacements for Guillen in left made contributions, Riggs with a run-scoring double and Jeff DaVanon with a long running catch of Scott Hatteberg’s drive to the gap in the ninth.

Erstad’s single and Glaus’ 17th home run in the third inning gave the Angels a 4-1 lead, and the Angels added two runs in the eighth, one on Bengie Molina’s suicide squeeze and the other on Eckstein’s second homer of the season.

They rattled Oakland ace Mark Mulder for four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in 3 2/3 innings, handing the left-hander his third consecutive loss and giving A’s Manager Ken Macha reason to ponder removing Mulder from the rotation for this weekend’s series against the Angels.

Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth and Troy Percival a scoreless ninth for the Angels, the veteran closer and free-agent-to-be doffing his cap to the crowd as he walked off the field.

“Just thanking them,” said Percival, who may not be re-signed this winter. “They’ve been here for 10 years for me. They’ve supported me good or bad. In case I don’t get back here, I wanted to let them know I appreciated it.”

Guillen left on far different terms, slipping out of the stadium in the early innings, his Angel career in doubt and his team suddenly without the slugger who provided 27 homers, 104 runs batted in and one of baseball’s best throwing arms.

“We don’t have time to be shocked,” Percival said. “What we have time for is to go out, play baseball and get ourselves into the playoffs. If we start thinking about anything other than winning games, it’s not going to do us any good at all.”

*

Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.