Angels Breeze, and More Power to Them

It was Redemption Day at the ballyard Saturday, as a trio of Angels began to atone for their shortcomings of the past week, the past five weeks, and, in the case of maligned center fielder Steve Finley, the entire season.

Finley, the .215-hitting veteran who lost his swing after the All-Star break and his starting job at the end of August, snapped a fourth-inning tie with his first home run since Aug. 10 and added a single during a sixth-inning rally to help the Angels defeat the Chicago White Sox, 10-5, at U.S. Cellular Field.

Garret Anderson, who hadn’t hit a home run since Aug. 2 and had four extra-base hits since then, broke the game open with a three-run blast in the fifth and added a run-scoring double in the sixth, his four runs batted in equaling his RBI total for his previous 21 games.

And outfielder Jeff DaVanon, who misplayed Edgar Renteria’s popup into a single during a key Red Sox rally in the Angels’ 6-3 loss to Boston on Wednesday, sprinted in from right field and made a diving catch of Paul Konerko’s fifth-inning flare with two on to thwart a rally when the outcome was still in doubt.

That helped the Angels remain one game ahead of Oakland in the AL West with 21 games to play.

The rare offensive outburst -- the Angels reached double figures in runs only once in their previous 29 games -- made a winner of Bartolo Colon, who shook off the effects of a lower-back injury to limit the White Sox to two runs and four hits in six innings, improving to 19-6.

With shaky starts by White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle Friday night and right-hander Jon Garland (seven runs, eight hits, six innings) Saturday, Colon, who has won his last eight decisions, is the clear front-runner for the American League Cy Young Award. And with one more victory Colon would become the Angels’ first 20-game winner since Nolan Ryan went 22-16 in 1974.

“I didn’t want to think about 20 wins, but now I have to,” Colon said through an interpreter. “It would be important for me, my family and my country, but it would mean I did something for the ballclub, not just me.”

Win No. 19 wasn’t as seamless as the line score would indicate. Colon gave up an RBI single to Aaron Rowand in the first and walked Tadahito Iguchi with the bases loaded in the second, and he needed 111 pitches to complete six innings. Colon walked as many batters Saturday (four) as he did in his previous seven starts.

“Thank God I was able to get away with some high pitches,” said Colon, who was pulled from last Sunday’s start against Seattle because of lower-back spasms. “I was very inconsistent because of discomfort in my back, and at times I didn’t know where I was mechanically.”

Colon, though, said he was certain he would make his next start Friday against Detroit.

Anderson, for whom 30-homer, 120-RBI seasons were the norm from 2000 to 2003, has been dealing with his own health issues, sitting out 10 games in August because of injuries to his lower back and left knee, which seemed to sap him of his power.

But he tore into a 2-and-2 pitch from Garland in the fifth inning Saturday, driving it over the wall in right-center for a three-run homer to give the Angels a 6-2 lead, and he lined an RBI double into the right-field corner in the seventh.

Could the Angels’ playoff hopes hinge on Anderson’s ability to drive the ball in the final three weeks?

“It’s something that would be welcomed, but I don’t think it’s an absolute necessity,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “If we need anything, it’s for his production to get back to where we know it can be. He can drive in runs without home runs. That’s why he’s been one of the premier RBI guys in the last five or six years.”

Anderson, who has 14 homers and 80 RBIs, is not concerned by his drop-off in power.

“You miss your pitches sometimes -- that’s part of the game -- and I’ve missed quite a few pitches this year,” Anderson said. “But when the runs are out there, you have to drive them in.”

Finley, the Angels’ biggest disappointment after signing a two-year, $14-million contract last winter, has been searching for an offensive spark all season, that one swing that can lead to the kind of hot streak he’s usually capable of.

Saturday’s home run to right-center, which gave the Angels a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning, and a lined single to right to advance Darin Erstad to third in the sixth, won’t hurt.

“That’s good for him,” Anderson said of Finley. “It’s something finally positive he can take with him.”