PHILADELPHIA -- A train in vain, it wasn't.
The Angels shunned their usual mode of air travel for a ride on the railways Sunday evening, chartering a train for the 130-mile trip from Philadelphia to Washington, but not before rolling over the National League East-leading Phillies in Citizens Bank Park.
Jered Weaver survived a harrowing first inning to throw 5 1/3 one-run, four-hit innings, Casey Kotchman blasted a prodigious two-run home run, and Scot Shields had 1 2/3 innings of dominant relief to highlight a 3-2 victory that completed a three-game sweep.
Philadelphia has three players with 18 home runs or more, but the Angels out-homered the Phillies, 5-1, in the series. Philadelphia ranks second in the NL in runs, but the Angels held the Phillies to five runs and a .140 average (13 for 93).
Angels starters Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Weaver combined for a 3-0 record with a 1.40 earned-run average.
After uncharacteristically committing four errors Friday, the Angels made several superb plays Saturday and Sunday, including left fielder Reggie Willits' backhanded diving catch of Pat Burrell's sinking liner in the eighth inning Sunday.
"I think this shows the quality of our overall game," third baseman Chone Figgins said. "We pitched, we played good defense and got some clutch hits."
The Angels don't often dazzle you with offense. No Angels hitter ranks among the league leaders in average, runs, home runs and runs batted in.
They make their share of fine plays, but outside of shortstop Erick Aybar, who was spectacular before sitting out most of the last month because of a finger injury, they don't show up nightly on ESPN's "Web Gems" segment.
And though Saunders leads the league with 11 wins, and closer Francisco Rodriguez, who retired So Taguchi with two on to end Sunday's game, leads the major leagues with 30 saves, the Angels rank only sixth in the AL in ERA.
All of which allows the Angels to fly a bit under the radar from a national-media standpoint, not that they mind or care.
"You know what I think it is? Because we play the game well, people overlook us," Figgins said. "We don't do anything explosive. We don't score 80 runs; we score six or seven, play defense and pitch. To a lot of people, that's not overly exciting, until you get to the park. Then the fans realize it and say, 'These guys are tough.' "
