Even a little hitting has helped a lot

The Angels entered Wednesday leading the American League with 252 hits and tied with the Minnesota Twins for the league’s best batting average at .277. And if you take away their disastrous first trip, when they went 1-7, they look even better, with their average rising to a baseball-best .302 and their scoring to 5.5 runs a game.

That’s a potent complement to the league’s third-best pitching staff.

“It takes a lot of pressure off your offense to know that all you need to do is get a one-run lead going into the seventh, eighth or ninth inning and you’ve got confidence in your staff to shut them down,” said hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. “They’re understanding what our offense is all about. The little things are so important for an offense when you’ve got a good pitching staff.”

Or when you have a lineup that seems to change from day to day. Injuries have limited infielders Chone Figgins and Howie Kendrick to 17 games combined this season and outfielder Garret Anderson has missed the last five games. Yet the Angels have hardly missed a beat.

“Some of the younger guys have stepped in and played well,” said Gary Matthews Jr., who ranks among the AL leaders in runs, hits and stolen bases. “They’ve gotten key hits for us. [Erick] Aybar and [Maicer] Izturis have driven in key runs for us in key situations. That’s what you need. It shows depth.”

As for his own production, Matthews said the key is to stay consistent.

“You’ve got to learn to stick with your approach, whatever it is,” he said. “And know that sooner or later, if your approach is right, you’ll get the results that you’re looking for.”

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After Wednesday’s loss to the Royals, the Angels put Izturis on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 30, and there’s a chance Anderson could follow him when the team returns to Anaheim on Friday.

Izturis went to the sidelines with a tight right hamstring Sunday and Manager Mike Scioscia said the injury wasn’t responding to treatment. So with the Angels short on healthy infielders, they put Izturis on the DL and recalled Brandon Wood.

Anderson, who has a tight right hip flexor, hasn’t played since Friday. And though he has taken batting practice the last two days, he still can’t run and doesn’t know when he will.

“I don’t have a guess,” he said. “Not a clue.”

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Reggie Willits was hoping his wife, Amber, a school counselor, and 2-year-old son Jaxon could make the short trip from Ft. Cobb, Okla., to see him play in Kansas City. Turns out they got half of that right, getting to Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday but arriving too late to see Willits collect a career-high three hits in the Angels’ 7-5 win.

A flight delay was at fault, but Willits wasn’t complaining, proudly showing Jaxon around the clubhouse after the game. The boy and his mother returned home Wednesday.

“It was pretty short. But I hadn’t seen them in probably two weeks,” Willits said. “And I won’t see them again until we get to Texas [next weekend]. Any time I can see them, it’s good.”

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Matthews and shortstop Orlando Cabrera are the only Angels to have started every game in the field, but Scioscia said he may give Matthews a break today and use him as the designated hitter, putting Willits in center.

With the Angels in a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, Scioscia said he’s hoping to find a way to rest all of his regulars. On Wednesday, Vladimir Guerrero started at DH, Willits played right field and Robb Quinlan left.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com