It all evens out for the Angels

WASHINGTON -- The Angels have been so good and the Washington Nationals so bad that a victory to complete a three-game sweep for the Angels seemed almost like a fait accompli.

Then Washington’s Lastings Milledge turned viciously on Ervin Santana’s 98-mph fastball in the first inning and drove it over the center-field wall for a two-run home run.

And Nationals right fielder Elijah Dukes, with the bases loaded and one out in the third, caught Howie Kendrick’s fly ball and nailed Garret Anderson, who had tagged up, at the plate to end the inning.

And catcher Jesus Flores, who had three strikeouts and a groundout in his first four at-bats, hit a run-scoring single in the ninth off the previously untouchable Scot Shields to lift Washington to a 5-4 walk-off victory at Nationals Park on Wednesday night.

“That’s baseball,” Anderson said after the Angels’ five-game win streak came to an end. “They kept playing too. They’re not going to roll over and play dead for us. They got the hits at the right time.”

Against a pitcher who had not given up a run in 15 1/3 innings over his last 14 appearances, a stretch in which he gave up seven hits, struck out 19 and walked six.

After sweeping a three-game series at Philadelphia over the weekend, Shields said he was throwing the best breaking ball of his career “in terms of movement and placement.”

But after Dukes led off the ninth with a single Wednesday night and took second on Milledge’s groundout, Shields hung a 2-and-1 breaking ball to Flores, who drove it to the gap in right-center for Washington’s seventh walk-off win of the season.

“I shouldn’t have talked about it so much the other day,” Shields said of his curve. “That last pitch was a bit of a hanger.”

It wasn’t the only bad pitch he threw. Though he gave up only an infield single in a scoreless eighth, he was not happy with his outing against the team with the National League’s worst record.

“I pitched bad, and they hit some balls that were absolute lasers,” Shields said. “I left some balls up, and they took advantage. They have some good young talent, and we saw that on display.”

Though Santana pitched fairly well despite the blood oozing from a cracked nail on his middle finger, giving up four runs and four hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking five, he was in line for the loss until the Angels rallied to tie the score in the eighth.

Trailing, 4-2, Erick Aybar opened the inning with a single against reliever Luis Ayala. Anderson hit a potential double-play grounder to second, but the ball nicked off Pete Orr’s glove and into right field for the Nationals’ seventh error of the series.

As Orr returned to his position, he pulled his hat over his face in shame, as if he couldn’t bear to watch what would happen next.

No wonder. Torii Hunter popped out to second, but Casey Kotchman, who hit a run-scoring single in the third, drove a run-scoring double off the right-field wall, and Kendrick followed with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 4-4.

The Angels were in striking distance only because Justin Speier escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs jam he created in the seventh.

Cristian Guzman and Dukes singled, and Milledge walked, but Speier struck out Flores, got Dmitri Young to pop to third and Ronnie Belliard to ground to first, ending the inning.

Santana also got out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth, but not before walking Belliard with the bases loaded to force in a run and giving up a run-scoring single to Wily Mo Pena.

“I didn’t like the walks,” Santana said. “They were all very, very close pitches, and the umpire didn’t give me them.”

Gary Matthews Jr. hit a run-scoring double in the second, and the Angels strung four singles together for a run in the third before Dukes fielded Kendrick’s fly to medium right and gunned down Anderson with a throw that was a few feet up the third-base line.

Manager Mike Scioscia said Anderson made the correct read, going when Dukes fielded the ball flat-footed. Anderson said he followed the orders of third base coach Dino Ebel.

“He told me to go, so I’ve got to go,” Anderson said. “I’m sure Dino saw the same thing I did. The throw was up the line, but he erred on the right side.”

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com