Guerrero, Angels pound the Phillies in 7-1 victory

PHILADELPHIA -- All those questions that dogged Vladimir Guerrero in April and May -- Has his bat slowed? Is he getting old? Is he hurt? Can he expand his strike zone any more? -- have faded amid a flurry of line drives, home runs and runs batted in.

It has been a June boom for the slugger, who jump-started the Angels’ offense with a two-run home run in the first inning and had two more hits and an RBI in Friday night’s 7-1 interleague victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Howie Kendrick had four hits, and Garret Anderson had three hits and two runs, including career run No. 986 to tie Tim Salmon’s club record. The Angels banged out a season-high 17 hits and scored their most runs since a 10-2 win over the Dodgers on May 18.

Right-hander Ervin Santana (9-3) didn’t waste the windfall, giving up one unearned run and two hits in seven innings and striking out nine against one of baseball’s most prolific lineups in a park known as a hitter’s haven.

“You can’t let up, you have to keep pushing,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “A six-run lead against that team in this park is not much.”

The long-struggling Angels pressured the Phillies all night -- they left 16 runners on base but went a solid seven for 17 with runners in scoring position -- and Guerrero was in the middle of two key rallies.

After Anderson doubled with two out in the first, Guerrero turned on an inside pitch and drove it over the left-field wall for a two-run homer, his 11th of the season.

Anderson’s RBI single made it 3-0 in the second, and Guerrero followed singles by Maicer Izturis and Anderson in the sixth with an RBI single. Casey Kotchman (single) and Kendrick (double) also drove in runs in the inning.

Guerrero is batting .434 (23 for 53) with four homers and 12 RBIs in June after hitting .246 with seven homers and 28 RBIs in April and May. He has raised his average to .285.

“He’s had 200 at-bat stretches when he’s not in sync and you see him hit a mere-mortal .260,” Scioscia said. “But he’s a special player. Even when he’s not locked in, he’s putting up numbers a lot of guys would be happy with.”

Guerrero has put up numbers most dream of. For 10 straight years, he has hit at least .300 with 25 homers, a streak eclipsed by only one player, Lou Gehrig, who did it 11 straight years.

All of which made Guerrero’s early struggles so shocking, the stout and sturdy 32-year-old pulling off pitches, swinging wildly at balls well off the plate and looking a bit lost at times.

“My knee wasn’t feeling that good in May, but it’s better now,” Guerrero said through an interpreter.

“That’s why I look more comfortable now.”

Having his legs under him, Guerrero said, “gives me more leverage. That’s my foundation. Without it, I’m only using my upper body.”

Some questioned whether Guerrero’s skills were eroding, “but at the end of the season, his numbers are going to be there,” center fielder Torii Hunter said. “It’s too early to say someone is not the same, getting older, hurt. It’s all a matter of getting hot. He goes to the plate ready to hit like Bamm-Bamm from ‘The Flintstones.’ ”

Asked if he was motivated by the questions, Guerrero, who has a career .370 average, 29 homers and 82 RBIs against the Phillies, said, “I didn’t hear anything about that. Everybody gets old, but if I’m healthy, I don’t worry about it.”

Santana faced even more intense scrutiny last season, when he went 1-10 with an 8.38 earned-run average on the road, but he has mirrored the Angels’ success away from home this season.

The Angels have a major league-best 22-12 road record, and Santana, who grew combative in the face of constant questions about his struggles away from Angel Stadium in 2007, is 6-1 with a 3.10 ERA on the road.

“That was a bad year, thank God I forgot about it,” said Santana, who used a nasty slider to claim six of his nine strikeout victims Friday. “This is a brand new year. Hopefully you guys will remember this year and ask me about it next year.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com