Lackey Able to Find Groove

It’s not as if John Lackey needs a global positioning system to find the seventh inning -- the Angel right-hander pitched into the seventh inning or beyond in 15 of 32 starts in 2004 -- but that neighborhood was uncharted territory for Lackey in 2005 ... until Tuesday night.

Finally finding some consistency after an uneven April, and avoiding the meltdowns that led to so many big innings, Lackey threw his best game of the season Tuesday night, giving up one run and six hits and striking out nine to lead the Angels to a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in front of an announced 29,917 at Safeco Field.

Lackey struck out Adrian Beltre with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning, preserving a 3-1 lead, and center fielder Steve Finley belted a two-run home run to provide insurance in the eighth, as the Angels extended their winning streak to three.

After Lackey gave up seven runs and 10 hits in a 7-6 loss at Oakland on April 17, Manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Bud Black had a lengthy closed-door meeting with him, stressing the importance of mound presence, of not letting routine rallies turn into big innings, of not letting his emotions overwhelm him.

Since then, Lackey has given up only three earned runs and 19 hits in 17 innings in three starts against Oakland, New York and Seattle, improving to 3-1 and lowering his earned-run average from 8.22 to 4.73.

“I’ve been able to make good pitches in tough spots,” Lackey said. “The awareness is better. I’m realizing that one pitch can be the game in those situations.”

Take the fifth inning Tuesday night. After giving up a solo home run to Richie Sexson in the second inning, Lackey didn’t allow another runner past first base until the fifth, when Miguel Olivo reached on a third-strike wild pitch, Wilson Valdez singled and Jeremy Reed walked to load the bases with two out.

Lackey threw a 94-mph, 1-and-1 fastball by Beltre, who finished second in National League most-valuable-player award voting last season. After Beltre fouled off a tough slider off the plate, Lackey expanded the zone by another six inches, getting Beltre to miss another slider for an inning-ending strikeout.

“That was a big one right there,” Lackey said. “He had a huge year last year and he can hurt you in a big way. I was fortunate to make some big pitches.”

Lackey struck out Olivo and Valdez to open the seventh, but after Ichiro Suzuki doubled to left-center, Scioscia pulled his starter in favor of Scot Shields, who struck out Reed to end the inning. Of the 31 runners Angel relievers have inherited this season, only one has scored.

Suzuki struck out twice against Lackey and closed the game with a strikeout against Shields, only the fourth time in his major league career he struck out three times in a game.

“I’ve been lucky against him so far,” said Lackey, who has limited Suzuki to nine hits in 37 at-bats. “He’s too good a hitter to think you’re going to get the best of him.”

It appeared the Angels would get the best of Mariner starter Gil Meche when they scored three runs in the first inning, a rally that began with Darin Erstad’s single, Meche’s error on a pick-off attempt and Chone Figgins’ run-scoring single.

Vladimir Guerrero popped out, but Figgins stole second, took third on a passed ball and, with the infield in, beat second baseman Bret Boone’s throw to the plate on Garret Anderson’s grounder for a 2-0 lead. Anderson took second on Finley’s grounder to third and scored on Orlando Cabrera’s single to center for a 3-0 lead.

But Meche blanked the free-swinging Angels over the next five innings, a span in which he gave up only three hits.

Meche then retired the first two batters in the eighth inning before Anderson singled to right. Finley, who is batting .170, then ripped Meche’s first pitch into the right-field seats for a two-run home run and a 5-1 lead.

Four of Finley’s last five hits have been home runs.

“He hasn’t gotten a lot of hits,” Scioscia said, “but a lot of them have been big hits.”