OAKLAND -- The Angels and Oakland Athletics have staged some wild finishes over the years, such as the 2005 game in which closer Francisco Rodriguez missed a throw back from the catcher, allowing the A's to score the winning run, and the June 8 game this year, when Oakland's Mark Ellis hit a 12th-inning walk-off grand slam.
But the American League West rivals would be hard-pressed to pack any more drama into one inning than they did Sunday, when the Angels rallied for two runs against closer Huston Street in the top of the ninth and Rodriguez escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom of the ninth.
After Reggie Willits scored from second on an infield single to give the Angels the lead, Rodriguez struck out pinch-hitter Rob Bowen and Kurt Suzuki with the bases loaded, and the Angels held on for a wild 4-3 victory in McAfee Coliseum.
Instead of heading into the All-Star break on a losing note with a four-game lead, the Angels left the Bay Area with a six-game lead, the AL's best record (57-38) and the positive vibes that come with an emotional victory.
"Whenever you can go into the break like that, it's big," said Torii Hunter, who sparked the Angels' ninth-inning rally with an infield single. "You think positive the whole time. If we lose this game, who knows?
"Now we're six games up, and you've got to be happy, but this [race] is far from over. . . . These guys aren't going anywhere soon."
The Angels trailed, 3-2, in the ninth when Hunter battled his way through an eight-pitch at-bat against Street and beat out a dribbler to third for a single.
Juan Rivera stroked a full-count pitch into center field for a single, advancing Hunter, who was running with the pitch, to third. Willits pinch-ran for Rivera, and Howie Kendrick hit a sacrifice fly to right for a 3-3 tie.
Ryan Budde's sacrifice bunt advanced Willits to second, and Erick Aybar followed with a chopper to shortstop Donnie Murphy, who charged and threw to first too late to catch the speedy Aybar.
Willits never slowed around third, and when A's first baseman Daric Barton pumped once before throwing home, it allowed Willits just enough time to slide in with the go-ahead run.
"In that situation, we're trained from the minor leagues up to go as hard as we can go," Willits said. "I got a good jump, and Dino [Ebel, third-base coach] did a good job of recognizing the play. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him waving me around, and that kind of reinforced what I was doing."
