Saunders Rests His Case in Win

Here’s a new magic number in the Angels’ playoff push: five.

That’s how many days of rest Joe Saunders has been given before each of his last two starts, and the rookie left-hander has responded with two of his finest outings of the season.

Saunders limited the Toronto Blue Jays to one run in a season-high 7 2/3 innings Friday night during a 4-1 Angels victory that stretched their winning streak to six games.

The numbers seem clear. In three starts with extra rest, Saunders has compiled an 0.87 earned-run average. In six starts on normal or short rest, that figure balloons to 5.63. The extra day off appears to have invigorated a pitcher whose 187 2/3 innings with the Angels and triple-A Salt Lake are the most in his five-year professional career.

“Every pitcher likes an extra day at this time of the season,” said Saunders, who won for the first time in his last five starts. “It helps your body and shoulder recuperate for the next start.”

Saunders was so dominant Friday that aside from Vernon Wells’ run-scoring single in the first inning, the only threat inflicted by Blue Jays bats was when they flew into the stands out of the hands of Bengie Molina and Wells. Saunders gave up five hits, struck out three and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced.

Manager Mike Scioscia pulled Saunders with two out in the eighth after he had issued his only walk, to No. 9 hitter John McDonald.

Scot Shields retired Reed Johnson for the final out of the inning, and closer Francisco Rodriguez extended his scoreless streak to 27 1/3 innings with a perfect ninth in which he recorded his major league-leading 40th save.

“You can’t do a much better job than Joe did tonight, and that was really the story,” Scioscia said. “He was ahead of hitters, changing speeds very well and was able to change speeds when he was behind in the count.”

The Angels’ offense was also mostly dormant, save for solo homers by Mike Napoli and Garret Anderson and a two-run fourth inning keyed by consecutive doubles by Vladimir Guerrero and Anderson.

The Angels (76-65) moved a season-high 11 games over .500, becoming the first team in franchise history to be more than 10 games over .500 after being more than 10 games below that mark. They were a season-worst 11 games under .500 on May 22 but have gone 59-37 since then.

Even if the Angels can’t catch Oakland, which retained its 5 1/2 -game lead in the American League West by defeating Tampa Bay, they could be a factor in the wild-card race. After trailing by 17 games on July 1 and by 8 1/2 games as recently as Sept. 1, the Angels suddenly find themselves alone in third place in the wild-card standings, 5 1/2 games behind Minnesota.

Oakland and Minnesota play three games against each other next week. The Angels could also help themselves during a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, currently second in the wild-card standings, that begins Monday at Angel Stadium.

“We’ll take that too. As long as we make the playoffs,” Rodriguez said when asked about the possibility of winning the wild card. “Of course, we want to hang a [division title] flag out there, but if the wild card’s an option, why not?”

Starting Saunders (5-2) on five days’ rest might not be much of an option during the season’s final three weeks. The Angels have only two more days off, and none until Sept. 18.

Though Scioscia said Saunders’ nine major league starts represented too small a sample size to draw any definitive conclusions about his success while pitching on normal and extra rest, Napoli acknowledged that from his vantage behind the plate, Saunders seemed crisper in his last two starts.

“He’s just looked like himself when he’s feeling good,” Napoli said. “He’s thrown well the last two times out.”

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ben.bolch@latimes.com