Angels Dig Deep, Sweep

A four-homer game is rare for the Angels, who rank 10th in the American League in home runs; a sweep of the Chicago White Sox in U.S. Cellular Field is even more rare, and a 50-stolen-base season by an Angel is downright scarce.

But the Angels achieved all three milestones Sunday, their 6-1 victory over the White Sox completing a three-day assault on the league’s top pitching staff that increased the Angels’ AL West lead over to Oakland to two games and could provide the impetus an uneven offense needs to push through the final 20 games.

Chone Figgins, Garret Anderson and Darin Erstad hit solo home runs off Chicago starter Orlando Hernandez in the first inning, and Vladimir Guerrero added a solo shot in the eighth off Brandon McCarthy, giving the Angels their first four-homer game of the season and eight home runs in three games.

Figgins also stole second in the seventh inning to become the first Angel with 50 stolen bases since Luis Polonia swiped 55 in 1993; Steve Finley continued his surge with two hard-hit singles, and the Angels outscored the White Sox, 22-11, in three games for their first sweep in Chicago since May 1995.

“To do that against a staff like Chicago’s has to give us a confidence boost,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said. “As the hits fall in and we execute, that confidence will turn into one good at-bat after another. If there’s been an Achilles’ heel this year, it’s been the inconsistency of the offense. You could see in this series what this club can do when the offense supports the pitching.”

John Lackey didn’t need much support Sunday -- the Angel right-hander blanked the White Sox on six hits in seven innings to improve to 12-5 on the season and 6-1 with a 1.94 earned-run average in his last 11 starts.

But after the Angels scored all of seven runs in Lackey’s previous four starts, having a three-run lead before he took the mound was nice for him.

“The biggest key today was the guys giving me an early cushion,” Lackey said. “I was able to use a little bit more of the plate than usual, and they hit some balls hard at people. I gave up a double [to Juan Uribe with one out in the second] and was thinking, ‘No big deal, I’ll trade a few outs for a run.’ ”

Figgins jump-started the offense with a shot to right, the third time this season he has led off a game with a homer. After Orlando Cabrera grounded out, Anderson, who won the All-Star game home run derby here in 2003, drove his 15th homer of the season, and second in as many days, to right on an 0-and-2 pitch.

That gave Anderson 222 career homers, tying him with Brian Downing for second on the Angels’ all-time list.

Chicago center fielder Aaron Rowand robbed Guerrero of a possible homer with a leaping catch at the left-center-field wall, but Erstad belted a 1-and-2 pitch to deep right for his sixth homer of the season and a 3-0 lead.

“I’m not used to doing things like that,” Figgins said of his leadoff shot. “I was just trying to get things going.”

Figgins, who added a sacrifice fly in the second, usually does that with his legs, helping to create offense with speed, as he did when he stole his 50th base. He also leads the team with 96 runs.

“To steal 50 bases is a great accomplishment,” Figgins said. “I thanked my teammates, guys like Erstad, G.A., Orlando, Finley, because they took the pitches that allowed me to run. But more important to me is scoring 100 runs. That means I’m getting on base.”

Though Finley didn’t join the Angels’ power kick Sunday, his two singles were significant. Finley, whose average has hovered at around .215 all season, and who lost his power stroke after the All-Star break, had a home run and a single Saturday. After leading off the second inning with a single Sunday, Finley scored.

“I’m trying to get back the old swing I had,” Finley said, referring to the stroke he used before injuring his right shoulder in the second game of the season. “It’s taken a while, unfortunately. This is as close as it’s been this year.”

Coincidentally, it was Aug. 28, the day Scioscia informed Finley in Tampa Bay that he had lost his starting center field job, that Finley found his spark.

“I found something in my swing in Tampa Bay, and I spent a lot of time working on it, repeating it in the cage,” Finley said. “I’ve been doing it in batting practice for 10 days, so I don’t expect it to change.”