Angels Working for Weekend

You wonder if Eric Chavez was serious when he said Friday that he would prefer the Oakland Athletics clinch the American League West championship in Anaheim so they could exact revenge on the Angels, who clinched their 2004 and 2005 division titles in McAfee Coliseum.

The A’s third baseman should be careful what he wishes for. Two Oakland losses in Seattle and an Angels sweep of Texas, and the A’s will get that chance to clinch in Anaheim, which is the last thing his teammates and coaches were hoping for.

Angels right-hander Ervin Santana overcame his road woes Sunday, throwing eight innings of two-hit, one-run ball, and Vladimir Guerrero crushed a game-breaking two-run home run in a 7-1 victory that kept the Angels’ remote playoff hopes alive.

The A’s are six games ahead of the Angels with seven to play, their magic number stalled at two for two days. Oakland will begin a three-game series tonight at Seattle; the Angels begin a three-game set at home against the Rangers.

If the Mariners win two of three -- no small task, considering they have lost 15 consecutive games to the A’s -- and the Angels sweep the Rangers, the Angels would still be alive when they open a season-ending four-game series Thursday at home against Oakland.

Then, all it would take for the Angels to force a one-game playoff for the division title is a four-game sweep of the A’s. Think it can’t be done? The Angels swept a four-game set from the A’s at home to close the 1995 season, forcing a one-game playoff against Seattle.

“All the pressure is on us to get something done,” Oakland right fielder Milton Bradley said. “We’ve got to take care of business the next couple of games, or we’re going to be sitting in October.”

The Angels know how tough it can be to nail down that last win. They lost four straight in September 2002 before finally clinching the wild-card spot.

With two one-sided weekend victories, and a series in which they held designated hitter Frank Thomas hitless in 13 at-bats, could the Angels have put some doubts in the Athletics’ heads?

“I don’t know about that,” Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy said. “I know they didn’t expect us to come in here and roll over, so they’re not shocked. But you still have to feel pretty confident over in that clubhouse.”

The Angels are confident when they get the kind of starting pitching they received over the weekend. After John Lackey subdued the A’s on Saturday, allowing two runs and four hits in seven innings, Santana dominated them Sunday, allowing Chavez’s second-inning single and Marco Scutaro’s sixth-inning triple.

Santana entered with a 5-6 record and 6.44 earned-run average on the road -- he is 9-2 with a 3.21 ERA at home -- but the right-hander looked as comfortable in McAfee Coliseum as he usually does at home.

“Everything is the same for me,” said Santana, who improved to 15-8. “Whether I’m home or on the road, I do the same thing.”

The Angels staked Santana to a 3-0 lead in the third when Howie Kendrick and Chone Figgins reached on infield singles, Maicer Izturis hit a two-run triple and Orlando Cabrera hit a run-scoring groundout.

After Cabrera singled to lead off the sixth, Guerrero hit a low-and-inside fastball from Dan Haren over the wall in center for his 31st home run and a 6-0 lead.

“The end isn’t here yet,” Figgins said, “so we’re going to keep fighting.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com