Tribe gives Angels opportunities

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels are relentless, especially when handed extra opportunities.

John Lackey earned his fourth straight win, Francisco Rodriguez tied his team record of 47 saves and the Angels took advantage of four Cleveland errors to defeat the Indians 4-3 Saturday.

Lackey (10-2) pitched six innings to remain unbeaten in his last six starts. The Angels added to baseball’s best record and avoided their first three-game losing streak since June.

Lackey gave the Angels five starters with 10 or more wins for the first time in team history. He joined Joe Saunders (14), Ervin Santana (13), Jon Garland (11) and Jered Weaver (10) in double figures.

“It’s definitely pretty cool,” Lackey said. “It means you have a chance to win a lot of games.”

Rodriguez yielded a single to Jhonny Peralta to open the ninth, then got three quick outs — two on strikeouts — to match his saves mark set in 2006. The All-Star closer narrowly escaped a second consecutive blown save when Ryan Garko lined a 2-2 pitch inches foul with pinch-runner Franklin Gutierrez on second and two outs. Garko fanned on a 3-2 offering in the dirt.

“That was close, but that’s the way it goes sometimes, an inch here or there,” Garko said. “He’s a good pitcher, but I’ve got to do a better job with first base open and a 3-2 pitch. I have to figure he’s not going to challenge me. He threw a changeup or split. I went after it. I shouldn’t have.”

Rodriguez bounced back from his fifth blown save on Wednesday, when he yielded three runs to Seattle and drew his first career ejection.

Garret Anderson extended his hitting streak to 20 games with two singles to help Los Angeles improve to 19-7 since the All-Star break.

Lackey allowed three runs and six hits, including a solo homer by David Dellucci in the first and a two-run shot by Garko in the fourth.

“I was only upset about the second [homer],” Lackey said. “It was a dumb pitch.”

Angels reliever Darren Oliver gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs in the seventh, then stranded all three runners to maintain a 4-3 lead. He fanned Kelly Shoppach, got Garko when shortstop Erick Aybar made a leaping catch of his blooper in short left, and retired pinch-hitter Jamey Carroll on a one-hopper back to the mound.

“He always does something out there the normal person can’t do,” Oliver said about Aybar’s acrobatic catch.

Indians manager Eric Wedge said that despite the fine play, his hitters should have capitalized.