Little Things Big for Angels

For those wondering why Bill Stoneman refused to include pitcher Joe Saunders in a trade offer for Washington slugger Alfonso Soriano, the left-hander provided some compelling evidence in support of the Angels general manager Tuesday night.

Saunders, recalled Tuesday to replace the injured Bartolo Colon, gave up two runs and five hits in seven sparkling innings, and the Angels took their little-ball attack to the extreme, twice scoring runners from second on infield singles in a tension-filled, 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Scot Shields threw a scoreless eighth, and closer Francisco Rodriguez, after walking Frank Thomas to lead off the ninth, struck out Eric Chavez, Jay Payton and, with an Angel Stadium crowd of 44,111 on its feet, Milton Bradley, for his 26th save, as the Angels moved to within a half-game of Oakland in the American League West.

The drama wasn’t limited to the ninth, when Rodriguez shelved his usually devastating slider and struck out Payton and Bradley looking at fastballs. It was one of those taut, low-scoring games, filled with twists and turns, in which the outcome can swing on one pitch, one play.

Both teams pitched well, but the Angels won because they executed on the bases and on defense, with left fielder Juan Rivera, whose sizzling bat fueled the Angels’ 19-7 July, gunning down a runner at the plate in the sixth to preserve a 1-1 tie. The A’s committed two errors, helping the Angels score two unearned runs.

“They scored from second on two infield hits -- that’s pretty impressive baserunning,” Oakland Manager Ken Macha said. “On the other side of the coin, they made a nice throw to the plate to cut down a run. Their defense helped them out; ours didn’t.”

With the score tied, 2-2, in the seventh, Maicer Izturis slapped a two-out single to left and took second on pitcher Joe Blanton’s errant pickoff throw. Orlando Cabrera followed with a slow roller up the middle that shortstop Marco Scutaro gloved on the outfield grass.

Izturis never slowed around third. Scutaro spun and fired an off-balance throw that tailed slightly toward the third-base line, allowing Izturis to dive around catcher Jason Kendall’s tag and score for a 3-2 lead.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first when Cabrera singled to left with two out and stole second, and Vladimir Guerrero followed with a dribbler toward third. Blanton fielded the ball and threw a one-hopper to first, even though he didn’t have a play. Cabrera steamed home and scored without a play.

“We squeaked out every run we could,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “Aggressive baserunning should be part of any team’s modus operandi. Going from first to third, forcing mistakes.... We need to take that to another level because our slugging percentage doesn’t match up with other teams. We need to maximize our chances.”

Payton’s error in the sixth allowed the Angels to score the go-ahead run, but the A’s right fielder quickly atoned for his mistake, leading off the seventh with a home run to left-center to tie the score, 2-2.

Garret Anderson had singled with one out in the sixth, and Howie Kendrick sliced a two-out double to the gap in right-center. Anderson slowed as he approached third, but when Payton dropped the ball after it caromed off the wall, Anderson ran home to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.

Saunders (2-0) blanked Oakland on two hits through five innings, but he ran into some trouble when he walked Jason Kendall to lead off the sixth. Mark Kotsay singled to center, and both runners advanced on Bobby Kielty’s groundout.

Frank Thomas singled to left, scoring Kendall from third, but Rivera made a strong one-hop throw to catcher Mike Napoli, who blocked the plate while swiping a tag on Kotsay for the out. Eric Chavez flied to left to end the inning.

“That was the play of the game,” Saunders said.

Saunders was key too, and with Colon on the shelf because of another arm injury, he could be down the stretch.

“Our starting pitching depth was a strength the first third of the season, but we’ve had to tap into it,” Scioscia said, alluding to Jeff Weaver’s release and Colon’s injury, which led to the promotions of Jered Weaver and Saunders. “Weaver and Saunders have come up huge for us, and they will continue to be huge because our depth isn’t what it was a month ago.”