How strange this is for the Angels, who for years came out of the All-Star break one slugger shy of championship caliber but this July are basking in a bounty of bats.
The team that has relied so heavily on pitching since 2005 ranked first in the American League in batting average (.284), fourth in runs (461), fourth in on-base percentage (.348) and fifth in slugging (.439) in the first half.
In a rare reversal, the biggest question now facing the Angels, who resume play in Oakland tonight, is whether they have enough pitching to fend off Texas and Seattle in the AL West and challenge the likes of Boston, New York and Tampa Bay for the pennant.
"It's kind of a new thing, I guess," ace John Lackey said of a staff that ranks 12th in the league with a 4.79 earned-run average, nearly a run higher than the 3.99 ERA the Angels had in 2008.
"The pitching definitely has to get it together. It's been a roller coaster. [Jered Weaver] is the only guy who has kept it rolling steadily the whole year."
The rotation, expected to be among the best in baseball, weathered early injuries to Lackey and Ervin Santana and the death of Nick Adenhart, as their starters combined for a 3.78 ERA in the first 34 games.
Then Lackey and Santana returned in mid-May, and the starters' ERA ballooned to 5.20 in the next 52 games.
Santana (1-5, 7.81 ERA) struggled in his return from an elbow ligament sprain; Lackey, who had a forearm strain, hasn't been his usually dominant self; and now Joe Saunders is in a funk, going 3-4 with a 6.09 ERA in his last 11 starts.
The bullpen, also expected to be a strength, lost key setup man Scot Shields to a season-ending knee injury in May, and Jose Arredondo, whom the Angels saw as a potential closer, was demoted to triple A with a 5.55 ERA in early May.
Veteran left-hander Darren Oliver and right-handers Justin Speier and Jason Bulger did an outstanding job holding leads to set up closer Brian Fuentes in June and early July.
But the trio showed signs of cracking before the break, making late-inning relief help a priority approaching the July 31 trade deadline.
"The potential of our rotation is still there; it's not too far of a stretch to think that Santana, Saunders and Lackey have the ability to throw better, and that Sean O'Sullivan, Shane Loux and Matt Palmer can give us a chance to win," Manager Mike Scioscia said.
