Angel Ending Happy, if Late

On the surface, the Angels went home happy late Monday. Darin Erstad singled home Orlando Cabrera in the 11th inning, giving the Angels a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium and a two-game lead in the American League West.

But two nagging questions clouded the Angels’ outlook. They still face a Vladimir Guerrero issue, and they might face a Francisco Rodriguez issue.

In the latest example of how teams are increasingly reluctant to let Guerrero beat them, the Blue Jays intentionally walked him -- with runners on first and second base, and two out in the fifth inning. Bengie Molina flied out to end the inning.

That was Guerrero’s only plate appearance with men on base. In Oakland last week, the Athletics once walked him intentionally with no one on base.

“He’s in a different league,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “I won’t say it’s surprising. I will say, if it happens, we feel good about producing in that situation. He wasn’t pitched to in Oakland, and Bengie had some big hits behind him.”

Rodriguez, pitching on consecutive days for the first time this month, displayed what appeared to be a worrisome loss of velocity. His fastball, normally in the 95-mph range, was timed at 89-92 mph on the stadium radar gun.

He preserved a 4-4 tie with a scoreless ninth inning, but he staggered. He walked two, gave up one hit and escaped on a soft liner with the bases loaded and two out that second baseman Adam Kennedy flagged down in shallow right-center field.

Pitching coach Bud Black attributed the struggles to an inconsistent release point and said he had no reason to believe Rodriguez might be injured.

“I didn’t notice a tremendous drop-off in stuff,” Black said. “He feels fine. We’ll keep an eye on him. But as of right now, I don’t see anything.”

The Angels won two innings later, after Scot Shields worked two scoreless innings to earn the victory. Cabrera led off the 11th with a double off Pete Walker, the sixth Toronto pitcher. With Guerrero looming on deck, Erstad singled in the winning run.

Kennedy tied a career high with four hits, lifting his batting average to .337.

After the game, the Angels returned catcher Jeff Mathis to triple-A Salt Lake to clear roster space for left-hander Joe Saunders, who will make his major league debut tonight. Saunders replaces Paul Byrd, whom Scioscia said needed “a couple of extra days” because of back spasms.

The Angels rallied from a 4-3 deficit in the eighth inning, after nearly botching a run-scoring opportunity. With one out and runners on first and third, Scioscia ordered Chone Figgins to squeeze. The bunt went foul, but three pitches later Figgins atoned with his speed.

He tapped a ground ball toward shortstop, an apparent inning-ending double play. The Blue Jays handled the relay cleanly, but Figgins simply beat the throw, enabling Maicer Izturis to score the tying run.

Rookie Ervin Santana received no decision, although with each start he appears increasingly unlikely to surrender his spot in the rotation. Santana delivered his fourth consecutive quality start, giving up four runs -- three earned -- in six innings.