Angels further their cause with 2-1 victory

Mike Scioscia emerged from his office to check out the commotion in the clubhouse. A handful of his Angels players, thirsty for champagne and hungry for October, lounged in front of the big-screen television, noisily rooting for the Oakland Athletics.

“Put on CNBC,” Scioscia said. “What’s going on in the stock market?”

Scioscia frowns upon discussing the playoffs until the Angels clinch, but that time draws so near that the manager laughed as he requested the players change the channel. No chance of that.

So, in the hour after their 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday, the Angels players pleaded for the A’s to beat the Seattle Mariners. If the A’s could win, the Angels could clinch the American League West championship tonight.

The Mariners won, so there will be no party tonight. But now the Angels and their fans do not need to watch the scoreboard or calculate a magic number.

The Angels and Mariners play four games in Anaheim, starting tonight. Win one, and the Angels clinch a tie for the division title. Win two, and the championship is theirs.

At the earliest, then, the Angels can clinch the title Friday. The starting pitcher for Seattle that night: Jarrod Washburn, who started Game 1 of the Angels’ lone World Series, in 2002.

As the Angels swept the Devil Rays and the magic number trickled to five, then four, then three, the excitement grew each day. For reliever Justin Speier, in his 10th major league season, this would be his first postseason. This is why he signed as a setup man with the Angels rather than as a closer with a mediocre club.

“We’ve worked from Feb. 14 on to get to this point,” Speier said. “To be this close is an exciting feeling. It’s something to be cherished. I’m going to try and enjoy every day.”

For closer Francisco Rodriguez, this would be his fourth postseason in six seasons, all with the Angels.

“That’s our goal, to get to the playoffs,” he said. “Our second goal is to make it to the World Series.”

The Angels took one of their final steps toward achieving their first goal Wednesday, with a victory that showed off their depth.

Two months ago, Ervin Santana was in the minor leagues, and Juan Rivera was in physical therapy. Now, both men are making their case for inclusion on the playoff roster.

Rivera, playing right field because Vladimir Guerrero cannot throw, hit a home run. Santana, starting because Bartolo Colon has a bad back, struck out 10 and held the Rays to one run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Darren Oliver, Speier and Rodriguez got the last eight outs for the Angels, with Rodriguez working the ninth inning for his 37th save.

Santana, dispatched to the minor leagues in July because of his ineffectiveness, has parlayed an adjustment in his delivery -- a sharper hip turn, the better to command his pitches with precision -- into terrific results. In four outings in September, three as a starter, he is 2-1 with a 1.27 earned-run average.

The Angels could use him as a long man in the playoffs, a role he filled with distinction in 2005.

“Playoffs or not, my job is to finish strong with this team,” Santana said. “This is a good end of the regular season. For my career, this is very important.”

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com