Kennedy Lifts Angels in 10th

That faint sound coming from underneath the Angels’ jerseys? It’s called a heartbeat, and it grew a little louder, a little stronger, Tuesday night when Adam Kennedy ripped a three-run home run in the 10th inning to send the Angels to a pulsating 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in Angel Stadium.

In the bouncing ball of home-plate humanity that punctuated the first walkoff homer of Kennedy’s career, the Angels celebrated not only a dramatic victory that extended their win streak to four but a game that may have applied a pair of shock paddles to their pennant hopes.

In four days, the Angels have cut three games off Oakland’s lead in the American League West; they now trail the A’s by 5 1/2 games with 23 games left, seven of those against Oakland.

Clear!

“We still have a chance, we still believe we can do this,” said Darin Erstad, the gimpy first baseman who nearly provided a Kirk Gibson-like ending in the ninth. “Until they pound the last nail in the coffin, we’re still alive.”

Left fielder Chone Figgins kept those hopes alive with two clutch defensive plays, a spectacular diving catch of Kevin Millar’s sinking liner in the eighth and a strong throw to the plate in the 10th to nail David Newhan, who was trying to score the go-ahead run on Brian Roberts’ single.

Garret Anderson led off the bottom of the 10th with a single against Orioles reliever Julio Manon. Reggie Willits followed with a sacrifice bunt that stayed fair as Millar, the Baltimore first baseman, escorted it down the line for a single.

Kennedy fouled off a first-pitch bunt and ripped Manon’s next pitch into the seats above the 18-foot wall in right-center for his third homer of the season, stirring memories of his three-homer effort in the Angels’ AL championship series-clinching Game 5 win over Minnesota.

“Adam has hit some big ones for us in his career,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “That one rivals the three he hit in 2002.”

It was made possible by Scioscia’s quick shift from little ball to big ball. When the Orioles’ infielders charged aggressively on Kennedy’s bunt, Scioscia took off the bunt sign “because the area A.K. could get the bunt down was shrinking,” he said.

Kennedy wasn’t surprised.

“They make it tough on you to bunt,” Kennedy said. “It’s a do-or-die play for them, they’re busting in on you. When you get the hit sign, you want to be ready for a fastball.”

Brendan Donnelly, despite walking one batter and hitting another in the 10th, got the win, and Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez pitched out of a runner-on-second, none-out jam in the ninth to preserve a 2-2 tie and extend his scoreless streak to 26 1/3 innings.

Erstad, who has sat out all but five weeks of the season because of a severe right ankle injury and was supposed to play only as a late-inning defensive replacement, doubled to right-center to lead off the ninth, hobbling into second with his first hit since June 15.

“That play, to us, was the biggest play of the game,” Kennedy said. “He has that knack, no matter how he feels physically, to tune it up a notch.”

Erstad was replaced by Erick Aybar, who took third on Jose Molina’s sacrifice bunt. Figgins and Maicer Izturis walked to load the bases with one out, but Orlando Cabrera flied to shallow left and Vladimir Guerrero grounded to first to end the inning, the frustration for both teams, who combined for 26 hits and 25 men left on base.

The Angels struck in the third inning when Curtis Pride, subbing for injured Juan Rivera, led off with a walk, Molina singled to center, Figgins bunted the runners up, and Izturis singled to right for a 1-0 lead.

The Orioles tied it, 1-1, in the seventh on Nick Markakis’ RBI single off John Lackey, breaking the Angels’ string of 21 straight innings without giving up a run.

But Howie Kendrick, mired in a two-for-30 slump, led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left, and after fouling off a bunt attempt, Kennedy grounded a hit-and-run single to right, sending Kendrick to third. Pride struck out, but Molina hit a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-1 lead.

Baltimore tied it in the eighth off Angels set-up man Scot Shields, who has given up nine earned runs in 16 1/3 innings in 13 appearances and has blown saves in three of his last seven games. Jay Gibbons led off with a double and later scored on Ramon Hernandez’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-2, but the Angels pulled through in the 10th.

“We’ve gone through this roller coaster a few times, but the last few days have given us a little more life,” Kennedy said. “Hopefully, we take advantage of it.”