Angels Click at a Key Point

Life without Vladimir Guerrero has not been unkind to the Angels. They’re still in first place, their pitching is holding up nicely and even without him they win more often than they lose.

If all that holds true for two more weeks, the Angels might have something special going. The Angels completed a sweep of the lowly Kansas City Royals with a 7-6 victory in front of an announced 42,345 on Sunday, then flew to Chicago to start their longest trip of the season.

“It’s a good time to start playing well,� pitcher Scot Shields said.

The Angels’ itinerary includes games against the White Sox, Red Sox, Braves and Mets, teams with a combined 61-28 home record. Guerrero, last year’s American League most valuable player, could sit out the entire trip because of his shoulder injury.

“I don’t think we want to be without him for too much longer, but I don’t think there’s anybody in this room that doesn’t think we have enough talent to get by,� said pitcher Jarrod Washburn, who will start today.

The Angels scored 30 runs in the sweep, their best in any three consecutive games this season. But they exploded against the Royals, the team with the worst earned-run average in the league. Is this a mirage, or are the Angels’ bats finally coming alive?

“It was just a matter of time,� first baseman Darin Erstad said. “It’s contagious.�

Steve Finley and Jose Molina drove in three runs each Sunday, in what should have been a rout. The Angels led 7-2 after seven innings, with Bartolo Colon pumping strikes. With two on and one out in the eighth, Colon struck out Ruben Gotay with a 97 mph fastball.

And that was all for Colon, who had thrown 99 pitches, 80 for strikes. He was around the plate so much -- he threw 32 of 35 first-pitch strikes -- that the Royals tagged him for 12 hits. His only 1-2-3 inning was the first.

“It wasn’t like he was cruising,� Manager Mike Scioscia said.

Brendan Donnelly relieved Colon and gave up a two-run single. Shields, who had given up one earned run in his previous 25 2/3 innings, gave up two in the ninth before striking out Gotay with the tying run on third.

The Angels improved to 6-3 without Guerrero, who dislocated his shoulder on an awkward dive into home plate 10 days ago. Scioscia said he would not be activated Sunday, when he can return from the disabled list.

But the Angels rank third in the AL with a 3.50 ERA, and perhaps the offense is slowly coming around. They rank last in the majors in walks, but consecutive walks to Erstad and Chone Figgins preceded Finley’s three-run triple in the third inning. Finley is batting .207, but he’s on pace to drive in 94 runs.

Garret Anderson had two hits; he’s on pace to drive in 123. Rookie Dallas McPherson had a single and hit .320 with three homers during the seven-game homestand. Orlando Cabrera hit .333 during the homestand, with Guerrero idle.

“You’d obviously like to have him in there,� Erstad said. “But we’ve been through this before, with guys getting injured and other guys stepping up. The last few days, they have.�