Angels hold on to beat A's

OAKLAND--After a lackluster loss Tuesday night and a messy, error-marred defeat Wednesday night, the Angels regained their edge--and then nearly lost it--today in a 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics in McAfee Coliseum.

Left-hander Joe Saunders needed only 87 pitches to throw seven shutout innings, allowing six hits, and the Angels hit three home runs in a span of four pitches in the seventh, the first time they've hit back-to-back-to-back homers in a game in four years.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Mark Teixeira's run-scoring single and a 3-0 lead in the fifth on Robb Quinlan's RBI single and Torii Hunter's swipe of home on the back end of a double steal.

They seemed to break the game open in the seventh against reliever Keith Foulke when Kendry Morales hit a solo home run to right-center, Mike Napoli crushed an 0-and-1 pitch for a home run to right-center and Brandon Wood hit a first-pitch homer to left for a 6-0 lead.

The last Angels trio to hit three consecutive home runs was Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Guillen and Jeff DaVanon on May 24, 2004, at Toronto.

But relievers Jason Bulger and Jose Arredondo combined to create a save situation for Francisco Rodriguez, Bulger hitting Chris Denorfia with a pitch and walking Bobby Crosby to open the ninth and Arredondo walking Cliff Pennington and giving up an RBI single to Carlos Gonzalez.

Arredondo struck out pinch-hitter Travis Buck for the first out, and with the tying run in the on-deck circle, Manager Mike Scioscia summoned Rodriguez, who had blown a save Wednesday night.

Rodriguez walked pinch-hitter Jack Cust to force in a run to make it 6-2, and Aaron Cunnington hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice to make it 6-3. Kurt Suzuki's RBI single to center made it 6-4 and advanced Cunningham to third.

Rodriguez then got pinch-hitter Ryan Sweeney to ground to second but was so uninspired by his major league-record 59th save that he didn't bother pointing to the sky with both arms, his usual game-ending celebration.

Saunders, who improved to 16-7, helped his own cause by starting two double plays on ground balls hit back to the mound, and he pitched his way out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the fourth.

Pennington hit a ground ball to third baseman Robb Quinlan, who stepped on the bag for an out and then fired home to Napoli, who put the tag on Emil Brown for the double play. Saunders struck out Jack Hannahan to end the inning.

Right fielder Gary Matthews Jr., whose ninth-inning throwing error Wednesday night helped aid the A's two-run, game-winning rally, backed Saunders with a superb diving catch of Pennington's second-inning flare down the line.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com