Angels help ruin Nationals pastime

WASHINGTON -- The July 31 trade deadline is more than a month away, and already some are speculating the Angels could make another run at slugger Mark Teixeira, who might be available if the Atlanta Braves fall out of contention.

But Mike Scioscia probably has more input on personnel moves than any manager in baseball, and he seems convinced the Angels have enough offense in-house to win the World Series.

“We’re facing some challenges, and there are some things we need to find as the season goes on,” Scioscia said. “But I think we can find them here. We’re all confident the offensive team we have in our clubhouse is going to be deep and do what we need to do.”

On nights like Tuesday, when the Angels erupted for six first-inning runs and cruised to an 8-3 interleague victory over the Washington Nationals, you almost believe him.

Mike Napoli broke out of a two-for-39 slump with a run-scoring double and a two-run home run, and Torii Hunter had three hits for the Angels, who won their fifth game in a row and have a major league-best road record of 26-12.

Sure, their outburst came against the National League’s worst team, a collection of castoffs and misfits that helped the Angels with two first-inning errors.

But the Angels also had five hits in that inning, including Erick Aybar’s hit-and-run single, and were four for six with runners in scoring position in the inning.

“Yeah, they cracked the door open a bit, but we got into some good hitting counts, had a good hit and run, some good baserunning and some hits with guys in scoring position,” Scioscia said. “No matter who’s pitching, it’s a challenge to square balls up.”

The eight runs were the most the Angels scored since a 10-2 win over the Dodgers on May 18. They’ve scored 43 runs in their last eight games after scoring 81 runs in their previous 24.

“It seemed like guys went into the box concentrating more,” Hunter said. “We were patient. We usually swing at the first pitch, but we got into some full counts and got the pitches we wanted.”

Jon Garland, who gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings to improve to 7-4, even contributed with a run-scoring groundout in the first, an inning in which the Angels sent 10 batters to the plate.

“That’s a real good sign,” Garland said of his rare first-inning at-bat. “The boys brought the bats tonight.”

But do they have enough bats to play deep into October?

The Angels pursued Teixeira last July but refused to meet Texas’ demands. The Rangers dealt Teixeira to Atlanta.

The Angels were more willing to part with premium talent for Teixeira in 2007 because the first baseman was a year and a half away from free agency.

But Teixeira is now three months away from free agency and could command a deal in the $200-million range. Angels owner Arte Moreno has a strong aversion to rent-a-players, making a deal even more improbable.

Plus, Casey Kotchman, whom the Braves would no doubt ask for, has developed into a productive hitter, with a .297 average, eight homers and 36 runs batted in, and a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman. And with a salary of $1.45 million, Kotchman is a bargain compared to Teixeira, who is paid $12.5 million.

A deal for Teixeira, who was hitting .271 with 15 homers and 55 RBIs before Tuesday, would probably also cost the Angels Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders, and the team doesn’t have enough organizational pitching depth to absorb that.

The Angels have options, as reserves Juan Rivera, who hit .310 with 23 homers and 85 RBIs in 2006, and Reggie Willits, who hit .293 with a .391 on-base percentage last season, could step in if the starters continue to struggle.

“We have guys on the bench who could be important pieces if our guys continue to not move forward,” Scioscia said. “And they’re probably more productive than some of those pieces that are going to be available at the trade deadline.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com