SAUNDERS HITS THE CLUTCH ROOKIE COMES UP BIG IN ANGELS' WIN ANGELS 4, TORONTO 1.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- He has defeated the Oakland Athletics, topped the NewYork Yankees in their storied ballpark and held the Detroit Tigers to one run on the road.

Joe Saunders might not be the rookie whiz kid that Jered Weaver has become, but he has proved to be unflappable in some intimidating settings.

So as the Angels cling to life in the American League West, the left- hander was just the guy they needed Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Fellow rookie battery mate Mike Napoli pitched in with his first home run in three weeks in a 4-1victory, the Angels' sixth consecutive.

With the Oakland Athletics' victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Angels remained 51/2 games back with 20 to play.

``I just think I had everything working tonight and I was throwing my curveball for strikes,'' Saunders said. ``My changeup was there, and past the third inning my two-seamer was coming around. I was keeping the ball down and throwing strikes.''

Even though the Blue Jays entered with the third-best team batting average in the AL and the second-most home runs, Saunders was as cool as they come.

It didn't look so promising from the outset, as Reed Johnson doubled to open the game and scored on a one-out single from Vernon Wells. From there, though, Saunders turned on the poise and started turning away Blue Jays batters.

He allowed just three more hits through his 72/3 innings, and had just one batter advance as far as second base. Alex Rios held that honor with a second-inning double.

``You're not going to do a much better job than Joe did tonight,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ``You're not going to get a lot of good looks. He has a power arm. We got back into the game but he had to pitch well to match what they were doing on the other side. They have a tough right-handed lineup for a left-hander to go through.''

Saunders (5-2) gave up just onerun on five hits, with a walk and three strikeouts. It was his first victory since Aug. 11 at Yankee Stadium. He had two defeats and twono-decisions since then, but came up big when the Angels needed it.

``You try to minimize (pressure) as much as you can but there will be pressure situations,'' Saunders said.

It would have been more of a sight to behold had the Angels managed to muster just a little more run support. The Angels tied the score 1-1 in the fourth inning when Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson led off with back-to-back doubles.

Anderson scored the go-ahead run when Howie Kendrick grounded into a double play.

Napoli added a little breathing room in the seventh inning when he emerged from a month-long fog to hit his first home run since Aug. 18.

Napoli has 14 home runs this season but just two since July 15. He entered Friday's game batting .112 with seven RBIs over his past 35games. It is a fry cry from when Napoli exploded onto the scene, reaching base safely in 11 consecutive plate appearances at one point from June 19-23.

Anderson added more insurance in the eighth inning with a solo home run off reliever Jason Frasor. It was the 16th of the season for Anderson and his eighth in his past 27 games. Anderson also has 25 RBIs in his past 29 games with an at-bat.

``We're going to need more offense coming down the stretch but we're going to do what we have to do to win,'' Scioscia said. ``No matter if our offense is there or not, we have to pitch well. If we don't (get runs) it does tax our bullpen a bit, and we've run into that occasionally.''

Francisco Rodriguez came on in the ninth inning to extend his dominance. He retired the Blue Jays in order for his 40th save in 43chances. He is now tied for the AL lead in saves with the Chicago White Sox's Bobby Jenks, who blew a save opportunity Friday.

Rodriguez has not allowed a run in his past 27 outings and his past 271/3 innings pitched. He has 99career saves and needs one more to become the youngest to reach 100. At 24 years, 243 days old, Rodriguez is almost a full year younger than Gregg Olson, the previous youngest to reach 100 saves.

[e-mail]

[phone], Ext. 2731

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera flips over Toronto's John Hattig as he turns a double play Friday.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Box:

ANGELS vs. TORONTO

- Doug Padilla