Escobar not sharp in dull win

There was nothing crisp about the pace, or the play, at Angel Stadium on Monday night. The Angels and Tampa Bay Devil Rays slogged through 3 hours 48 minutes, with 12 pitchers combining to throw 358 pitches.

Maybe this is the Angels’ way of getting ready for the playoffs. They’re probably going to face the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox in the first round, and for those clubs October means four-hour games as surely as it does Halloween.

There were plenty of hits, mostly by the Angels. That was the good news. The bad news is, with the playoffs around the corner, Kelvim Escobar suddenly has turned unreliable.

The Angels won, 10-7, on redemption night for the bullpen. After their relievers blew a 7-1 lead on Sunday, they saved Escobar by working five innings and giving up one run.

“I have to find a way to get my rhythm back and get ready for the playoffs,” Escobar said. “I’m a big part of this team. We’re trying to get to the World Series.”

With the victory, the Angels cut their magic number for clinching the American League West championship to five. They maintained the largest lead in the major leagues -- 8 1/2 games over Seattle -- and could eliminate the Mariners on this field later this week.

The Angels also closed within 1 1/2 games of the Red Sox in the race for the best record in the league -- and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon, the former Angels coach, was ejected in the seventh inning. Under Maddon, the Rays are 0-6 in Anaheim, and they have been outscored, 40-17.

The Angels did what they do best on offense, with a frenzy of hits, none of them home runs. They had 18 hits, including three each from Chone Figgins, Garret Anderson, Maicer Izturis and Casey Kotchman.

They did not score in the first inning, then scored in each of the next five innings. Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson, the former Dodgers prospect, gave up 14 hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Jackson still lasted longer than Escobar, an uncomfortable issue for the Angels.

The hitters blessed him with plenty of run support, but he gave up runs in four of five innings. He threw 84 pitches in the first four innings, an outrageously high number, and yet the Angels sent him out in the fifth. They led, 6-4, and he simply needed to get three outs to qualify for the victory, to keep alive his shot at winning 20 games.

He got none. He gave up a single, a double and a walk, and he was done. For the night he made 98 pitches and got 12 outs.

He worked so sluggishly that B.J. Upton stole home in the third inning, although Manager Mike Scioscia said that play reflected more upon Upton than on Escobar.

Escobar gave up six runs and eight hits in all, the latest troubling outing in a series of them. At the start of September, Escobar ranked among the favorites for the Cy Young Award. Now, on the eve of the playoffs, he appears to be fading.

In four starts this month, Escobar has an 11.49 earned-run average. He has failed to complete six innings in all of those starts, after pitching at least six innings in 17 of his previous 18 starts. His rhythm is out of whack, Scioscia said, but fatigue and injury are not issues.

“It’s something every pitcher is going to go through,” Scioscia said. “It’s not an opportune time for it to happen for Kelvim.”

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com