Angels move into 2nd wild card spot with 5th straight victory

[AngelsWin.com]

• Seattle Mariners’ Robinson Cano, right, begins a slide home to score as Los Angeles Angels catcher Martin Maldonado waits for the ball in the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• Los Angeles Angels’ Kaleb Cowart (22) slides safely into second base ahead of the tag by Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura in the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• Los Angeles Angels’ Luis Valbuena (18) is congratulated on his two-run home run by C.J. Cron as Seattle Mariners catcher Mike Zunino waits during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• Seattle Mariners’ Yonder Alonso, right, slides into a tag at home by Los Angeles Angels catcher Martin Maldonado for the out during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

• Former designated hitter Edgar Martinez, right, speaks during a ceremony retiring his No. 11 as former teammates Jamie Moyer, left, Dan Wilson, Jay Buhner and Ken Griffey Jr. look on before a baseball game between the Mariners and Los Angeles Angels Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Seattle. Martinez, who retired at the end of the 2004 season, is currently the team’s hitting coach. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

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SEATTLE — The Angels have reached a notable, although meaningless, moment.

They are currently sitting in the second wild card spot, after running their winning streak to five games with a come-from-behind, 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.

“It gives us a little taste of what’s left to come,” Jesse Chavez said.

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The Angels have taken the first three games of this series against the team that was leading the race for the second wild card when it began. The Mariners were since passed by the Minnesota Twins, who also lost on Saturday to allow the Angels to pass them both.

At 60-58, the Angels still have 44 games to play, which is why being in playoff position now means little.

Asked if there was any small significance to draw from the standings now, Manager Mike Scioscia said flatly: “No. Nope. We’ve got a game tomorrow.”

To JC Ramirez, the standings don’t mean as much as the way the Angels are currently playing. They have now won 11 of their last 15 games.

“You’ve seen the tough season we’ve been through and now we finally gained that spot,” Ramirez said. “People that weren’t hitting are now hitting. People who weren’t pitching very well are now doing good. This is the kind of team we are. This is the kind of team we were supposed to be since the beginning of the season.”

The characteristic that has been on display most lately is a penchant for late-inning heroics. They scored the decisive runs in the eighth and ninth innings in all three victories so far in Seattle. And in the past two games, they overcame seventh-inning deficits, of four runs on Friday and two on Saturday.

In this one, they trailed 3-1 after six innings because Ramirez had been outpitched by Seattle’s Erasmo Ramirez in the first matchup of Nicaraguan starters in the majors since 1984.

“It was cool,” JC Ramirez said. “For a second I thought about it. A lot of people at home watching the game.”

While they saw Erasmo Ramirez hold the Angels to a run on three hits, if they continued watching after the two Ramirezes were out of the game, they would have seen the Angels’ hitters get to work on the Seattle bullpen.

Luis Valbuena’s two-run homer against reliever Casey Lawrence tied the game in the seventh. Although Valbuena’s average is still at .187, he has hit six of his 12 homers in the month since the All-Star break.

“There are more hits that will fall in for Luis when he gets going, but he’s hit some big home runs,” Scioscia said. “That’s a huge home run tonight. He’s working hard and getting some big hits for us. We’re going to need him.”

Two innings later, the Angels snapped the tie with three runs.

Seattle reliever Tony Zych walked Ben Revere and Mike Trout. Albert Pujols then yanked a double into left-center, scoring both runners. Pujols went to third on Kole Calhoun’s single into left, and he scored on Andrelton Simmons’ sacrifice fly.

Calhoun and Simmons also collaborated on the defensive play of the game for the Angels.

With the game tied in the bottom of the seventh and Chavez on the mound, Yonder Alonso was at first when Robinson Cano doubled into right-center. Calhoun picked up the ball on the warning track and fired to Simmons, whose relay to the plate was easily in time to nail Alonso.

“The way they got that ball in, you can tell this team smells the finish line of where we got to get to,” Chavez said. “Once we get there, it’s a whole new season. We’re smelling it.”

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