White Sox put on an aerial show

Someone was a little trigger-happy with the fireworks in Angel Stadium on Monday night, inadvertently setting off a single round during Jim Thome’s second-inning at-bat and filling the sky above left-center field with a colorful explosion.

The Chicago White Sox provided the rest of the pyrotechnics for the evening, hammering three home runs and 24 hits in a 17-3 victory over the Angels, amassing season highs for runs and hits and knocking out starter Ervin Santana in the second inning.

Jermaine Dye crushed a three-run shot to left field in the second inning, and Thome lined a three-run shot to right in the third for his 549th home run, which sent him past Mike Schmidt and into 13th place on baseball’s all-time home run list.

Paul Konerko hit a solo shot in the fifth inning, and Alexei Ramirez and Scott Podsednik each had four hits.

The 17 runs equaled the most given up to the White Sox, matching a 17-2 loss in Comiskey Park on May 31, 1978, and the 14-run loss was the largest margin of defeat in Angel Stadium since a 15-1 loss to Chicago on Aug. 8, 2001.

The 24 hits were two shy of the franchise record for hits given up in a game, set by Baltimore in a 13-8 win over the Angels on Aug. 28, 1980.

“They took it to us,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It was an ugly game, one of those you just want to turn the page on.”

Seven of Chicago’s runs and nine hits were charged to Santana, who gave up three runs in the first inning and failed to retire any of the five batters he faced in a four-run second before being pulled in favor of Rafael Rodriguez.

Santana was making his third start of the season after sitting out the first six weeks because of an elbow ligament sprain.

Though he hasn’t worked into his normal velocity -- his fastball hits 96 mph when he is in peak form -- Santana looked sharp in Seattle on Wednesday, giving up one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Monday night, the right-hander had nothing. His fastball had little life and rarely topped 92 mph, his breaking ball had no bite, and his changeup wasn’t fooling anyone.

The White Sox jumped on Santana in the first inning, their first four batters getting singles and Carlos Quentin hitting a run-scoring double.

The Angels tied the score with three runs in the first inning, but Chris Getz, Podsednik and Ramirez singled to open the second, and Dye drove a three-run home run far over the left-field wall.

Santana walked Thome and was pulled, as one obvious question hung in the air: Is his elbow OK?

“He says he feels fine as far as his elbow and arm,” Scioscia said. “He didn’t feel like he had a lot of energy tonight.”

Santana said his arm and elbow “felt normal,” but he had trouble locating his pitches.

“Everything they saw, they hit,” Santana said. “I’m not the only pitcher this happens to. Every time I go out there I try to do my job. I don’t expect to do that. I’m sorry.”

Did his outing make Santana question the health of his elbow?

“No, because I just gave up one run in 6 2/3 innings in Seattle,” he said. “I don’t think about it.”

Santana’s successors didn’t fare much better. Rodriguez gave up four runs in the third, three on Thome’s home run, and two runs in the fourth, Jason Bulger gave up Konerko’s homer in the fifth, Justin Speier gave up two runs in the seventh and Jose Arredondo gave up a run in the ninth.

After giving up three runs in the first, which featured Torii Hunter’s two-run single, John Danks (4-3) blanked the Angels and gave up one hit over the next five innings.

Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero, in his first game back after sitting out five weeks because of a torn right chest muscle, was hitless in four at-bats.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com