Angels Save a Little Extra

The high wire that Angels pitchers have been tiptoeing across for the last week and a half finally snapped Friday night when closer Francisco Rodriguez’s impressive scoreless streak ended at 31 1/3 innings. Remarkably, the rest of the club did not come tumbling down with it.

Vladimir Guerrero led off the 11th inning with his 100th home run as an Angel, and Brendan Donnelly, fresh off a four-game suspension, threw two perfect innings of relief, surviving a few harrowing moments, to lead the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in Ameriquest Field.

With Oakland beating Chicago, the Angels remained five games behind the A’s in the American League West with 14 games left, their playoff hopes fading but still not completely doused. “If we had lost this game, it would have hurt a lot, and it could have spiraled into something you don’t want to get into,” Donnelly said. “On the flip side, when you win a game like that it can help get you where you want to be.”

Another feeble offensive effort -- seven hits in 11 innings -- left Angels pitchers with virtually no margin for error, again. Six of the team’s last seven games have been decided by one run, and the Angels have scored 15 runs in those games.

But the Angels were in good shape when they broke a scoreless tie in the ninth on Adam Kennedy’s two-out, run-scoring single off closer Akinori Otsuka, a rally set up by Juan Rivera’s walk and pinch-runner Reggie Willits’ stolen base. Then they handed the ball to their near-impenetrable closer.

Rodriguez hadn’t given up a run since June 26 against Colorado, a span of 30 appearances. He hadn’t blown a save since July 29 at Boston, converting 17 save opportunities in a row. He looked dominant to start the ninth, striking out Michael Young swinging at a slider and Mark Teixeira looking at a fastball.

But Carlos Lee doubled to right-center, and Hank Blalock drove a hanging slider to right-center for another double, scoring pinch-runner Jerry Hairston Jr. for a 1-1 tie, and giving the Angels every reason to feel deflated.

Except they weren’t.

“This team is not going to quit, it’s not going to fold,” said Mike Scioscia, who got his 600th victory as Angels manager. “If a team is going to beat us, they’re going to have to play well.”

Donnelly worked through an uneventful 10th, and after Guerrero’s 29th homer of the season, a towering shot to left off reliever Frank Francisco, gave the Angels the lead, Young opened the bottom of the 11th with a screaming line drive right at Kennedy, the Angels second baseman.

“It might not have looked like it, but that was a great catch by A.K.,” Donnelly said. “That thing was going 180 mph with spin.”

Teixeira, with the infield shifted toward right field and third baseman Maicer Izturis positioned at shortstop, lifted a popup between third and home. Donnelly froze at first, then stumbled off the mound, but catcher Jose Molina ran about halfway down the line to make a sliding catch for the second out.

“I’m still wondering what happened on that popup,” Donnelly said after the game. “When the ball was hit, I assumed it was an out. I totally forgot the shift was on. I looked around, and there was no Izzy. That was my ball, but Jose made a great play.”

Donnelly got pinch-hitter Eric Young to pop to second to end the game, salvaging a superb start by rookie right-hander Jered Weaver, who allowed one hit -- Gary Matthews’ one-out double in the sixth -- and struck out nine in seven innings.

But that hardly eased Scioscia’s concerns about a team that has averaged three runs a game in September but has somehow managed to go 10-4 this month.

“A.K. had a huge hit, and Vladdy gave us a big lift, but we just haven’t swung the bats,” Scioscia said. “I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but we definitely need to pick some things up in the batter’s box.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com