Angels Stay in Character With 7-6 Win

For those who were here during the Angels’ one-game-at-a-time run to the 2002 World Series championship, who had Manager Mike Scioscia’s mantra power-drilled into their heads, Wednesday’s 7-6 victory over Minnesota was, as left fielder Garret Anderson said, “just one game, something you don’t want to get too wrapped up in.”

But for the uninitiated, the newcomers who have yet to fall under Scioscia’s never-too-high, never-too-low spell, there was something special about Wednesday’s win, in which the Angels erased deficits of three and two runs against 2004 American League Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana and won it on Anderson’s three-run home run in the seventh inning and game-saving assist in the eighth.

“This team has tremendous character,” said pitcher Paul Byrd, who joined the Angels last winter and gladly accepted a no-decision Wednesday after a rocky 6 2/3 -inning, five-run, nine-hit effort.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself and start thinking playoffs, but no matter what pitcher takes the mound [for the opponent], this team finds a way to get it done, whether it’s the bottom of the lineup or Vladimir [Guerrero] and Garret in the middle. When I think of this team, the word ‘character’ comes to mind.”

So does depth. The Angels showed it again in front of an announced 41,534 in Angel Stadium when reserve outfielder Juan Rivera followed Anderson’s seventh-inning homer against Santana with a solo shot against Jesse Crain, an insurance run that provided the eventual margin of victory.

And when backup catcher Jose Molina fielded Anderson’s throw from left field on a hop, a few feet up the third-base line, and made a diving tag of Michael Ryan to cut down the potential tying run at the plate in the eighth inning.

And when shortstop Maicer Izturis, filling in for injured starter Orlando Cabrera, ranged far into the hole to backhand Torii Hunter’s ninth-inning grounder and make a strong throw to first for the second out, just before second baseman Adam Kennedy’s diving stop of Justin Morneau’s grounder to the hole to end the game.

And when Joel Peralta, called up from triple-A Salt Lake in late May when closer Francisco Rodriguez went on the disabled list, retired Lew Ford on a fly to center with the bases loaded to end the seventh, earn his first major league win and give the Angels a chance to come back.

“I’ve never been on a team where the fill-ins are right behind the starters,” Byrd said. “It’s amazing. I remember playing Montreal last year and not wanting to face Rivera, and he’s a backup here.”

After his two-hit shutout of the Royals on Friday night, Byrd quickly realized he wasn’t in Kansas City anymore. On Wednesday, the playoff-contending Twins scored twice in the second and once in the fifth before Guerrero (two-out, run-scoring single) and Bengie Molina (two-run single) keyed a three-run Angel fifth that made it 3-3.

Run-scoring singles by Luis Rodriguez and Mike Redmond, who had homered in the fifth, pushed the Twins ahead, 5-3, in the sixth.

But Chone Figgins and Guerrero singled in the seventh ahead of Anderson, who lined Santana’s 2-and-0 fastball into the right-field seats for his 11th homer of the season and a 6-5 lead.

“You don’t see Johan give up too many leads,” Minnesota Manager Ron Gardenhire said of Santana, who fell to 7-5. “To come back on him twice is amazing.”

Rivera’s sixth homer of the season made it 7-5, but the Twins nearly came back against Angel setup man Scot Shields in the eighth when Redmond singled with one out, took third on Ryan’s double and scored on Shannon Stewart’s infield single to make it 7-6.

Nick Punto lifted a fly ball to shallow left, and Ryan decided to tag and test Anderson’s arm. Anderson made a strong throw home, but it was up the third-base line by a few feet. Jose Molina caught the ball on a hop and dived across the front of the plate to nail Ryan, who tried to avoid the tag with a diving hook slide.

“That was a great play by both of those guys, Garret and Jose,” Scioscia said. “Garret got just enough of an angle on his throw home, and Jose picked a short hop and made the tag.”

Rodriguez then retired the side in the ninth, with the help of Izturis and Kennedy, for his 17th save.