Angels Decipher Athletics’ Pitching

Even with two of their three vaunted starters now making life miserable for hitters in the National League, Oakland’s retooled pitching staff had transformed Angel hitters into a Big Zero in the first four games between the division rivals.

The Angels were hitting .216 and averaging fewer than four runs against Athletic pitchers, none of them named Mark Mulder or Tim Hudson.

All it took to reverse the trend was a perfect 10.

The Angels sent 10 men to the plate during a six-run fifth inning Saturday night that catapulted them to a 9-5 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 43,880 at Angel Stadium.

Having watched teammate Paul Byrd get battered for five runs in the top of the fifth, the Angels put together a six spot in the bottom of the inning, thanks in part to an error by left fielder Charles Thomas.

The Angels’ largest output in an inning this season turned a 5-3 deficit into a 9-5 advantage and ensured that they would not fall out of first place in the American League West for the first time this season.

“Anytime you can answer like that, even if you don’t take the lead back, you take the momentum,” Josh Paul said. “It’s huge.”

Jake Woods, Esteban Yan and Brendan Donnelly combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Angels, who are 2-3 against Oakland and hope to even the season series today with Kelvim Escobar, their most reliable starter last year, scheduled to make his season debut.

Woods (1-0) was presented with the lineup card after pitching one scoreless inning to record his first major league victory.

“I’m sure I’ll frame it,” he said.

Jeff DaVanon got things started for the Angels in the fifth when he hit a leadoff single and stole second with one out before scoring on Chone Figgins’ single to left. Figgins stole second -- the Angels’ fifth steal of the game -- and came home on Vladimir Guerrero’s double that glanced off third baseman Eric Chavez’s glove and rolled down the left-field line to make it 5-5.

Guerrero went to third on Garret Anderson’s single to right field and scored on Steve Finley’s sacrifice fly to right. Orlando Cabrera singled to right-center field, putting runners on first and third, before Dallas McPherson drove in his first run of the season with a single to right.

Paul then drilled a pitch from reliever Justin Duchscherer that Thomas appeared to chase down before the ball nicked off his glove and dropped onto the warning track, allowing two more runs to score.

Byrd pitched to reserve catcher Paul for a second consecutive game, but the results did not resemble the solid eight-inning outing Byrd posted Monday against the Seattle Mariners in which he gave up only one run.

“I’m super-disappointed with my performance, but I’m happy my team picked me up,” said Byrd, who gave up six hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

“I will have to return the favor soon and pick them up.”

Byrd certainly got off to a fast start, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters and needing only 47 pitches to get through four practically spotless innings. The Angels’ three-run cushion seemed like more than enough.

But things quickly unraveled in the fifth. Scott Hatteberg doubled, Mark Ellis walked and Bobby Kielty, who had one hit in 17 previous at-bats for an .058 average, hit a three-run homer to right-center field to tie the score, 3-3.

Jason Kendall later ripped a run-scoring double to right-center field and Chavez dropped a run-scoring bloop single in front of hard-charging center fielder Finley before Manager Mike Scioscia, having seen the Angels’ three-run advantage obliterated, replaced Byrd with Woods.