Peter Bourjos saves Angels with his glove in 5-1 win over Tigers

Vladimir Guerrero used to wear a Superman T-shirt under his jersey, and there were times the former Angels slugger seemed more powerful than a locomotive.

There is no such logo under the jersey of Peter Bourjos, but after watching him patrol center field in the Angels’ 5-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night, you’d swear he was faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Bourjos raced in to make a shoestring catch of Miguel Cabrera’s bloop to shallow center in the fourth inning and then made a spectacular leaping catch before crashing into the Angel Stadium wall in the sixth to rob Cabrera of a two-run double.

The latest in what seems like a continuous Bourjos highlight reel led a spirited defensive effort for the Angels, who also got a nice over-the-shoulder running catch from left fielder Vernon Wells and a pair of key double plays to win for the ninth time in 11 games.

“Peter’s play was a game-changer,” said Angels pitcher Joel Pineiro, who gave up one run and five hits in seven innings to improve to 4-3. “It was a big momentum-changer.”

Torii Hunter hit a solo home run — his ninth of the season and first since May 30 — into the rock pile beyond the center-field wall in the first, and Wells lined his 12th homer of the season and eighth in his last 19 games to left field in the eighth.

Erick Aybar (fifth inning) and Mark Trumbo (sixth) added two-out, run-scoring singles, and Bourjos singled, stole second and third, and scored on a balk in the third to back Pineiro.

But it was Bourjos’ defense that left an indelible mark on this game, his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame probably leaving an indentation on the center-field wall.

The Angels had a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth, but the Tigers put the first two runners on base.

Cabrera crushed a liner to dead-center, over the head of Bourjos, who broke into a dead sprint toward the wall.

Bourjos leapt at the warning track, made the catch and smashed into the wall just to the right of the 400-foot sign. He bounced off the wall but held on to the ball for the first out.

Pineiro then got Victor Martinez to ground into a double play.

“I hit the wall hard, but it gave pretty good, which was nice,” said Bourjos, the 24-year-old who is in his first full big league season. “Going back, I felt like I had to make that play because of where the game was at.

“I felt like it was do or die, which actually made it easier. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t have a choice. I was going to hit that wall.”

Hunter, who moved from center field to right to accommodate Bourjos last August, earned the nickname “Spiderman” for making similar plays during his 13-year career, in which he has won nine Gold Glove Awards.

Could Bourjos be Spiderman II?

“He reminds me of myself when I was young,” Hunter said. “He’s probably faster than I was, and he’s not afraid of the wall. He makes plays. This dude is unbelievable, and wait until he learns the game. He’s still learning the hitters and how to position himself. He’s going to be a Gold Glover.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com