Relievers pitch in, lift Angels over Indians

The Angels matched the Indians' two early runs with two in the second inning on singles by Howie Kendrick, Juan Rivera and Reggie Willits with a run-scoring forceout thrown into the mix. The bottom of the Angels' lineup struck again in the fifth inning when Jeff Mathis led off with a solo home run.

The home run was Mathis' seventh of the season. He and Mike Napoli (currently on the DL) have combined for 19 home runs, the most by any team's catchers, and 57 RBIs, tops in the league - despite a combined batting average of only .213.

Making it an even better night for Mathis, he also threw out Jamey Carroll on an attempted steal of second base in the first inning. That ended a stretch of 29 consecutive successful steals against the Angels since June 18.

"It was about on the same level," Mathis said of the satisfaction he got from the go-ahead home run and finally throwing out a runner. "It's been bothering us a bit (the steal streak)."

The relay team that picked up for Weaver began with left-hander Darren Oliver. He retired seven of eight batters, picking off the one man (Asdrubal Cabrera) who reached base on a single.

"They were quick outs, too," Angels reliever Scot Shields said of Oliver's work. "It kept the momentum in our favor."

Jose Arredondo took over with two outs in the sixth and worked out of some trouble in the seventh after giving up another single to Cabrera and a two-out hit-and-run single by Carroll.

Shields handled the eighth and Rodriguez the ninth, each throwing in a two-out walk to keep things interesting. Rodriguez recorded his 41st save with a nasty breaking ball to strike out pinch-hitter Ryan Garko to end the game.

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(c) 2008, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.). Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.