Angels still in state of denial

It poured before the game Saturday, causing the first Angel Stadium rain delay since the 1998 season opener. It did not pour afterward, which is becoming a bit of a nuisance for the Angels, who hoped the champagne and beer would be flowing freely in their clubhouse by now.

The Seattle Mariners put another crimp in the Angels’ party plans with a 3-2 victory, and the Angels’ magic number to clinch their third American League West title in four years remained stuck at one.

The Angels lead the Mariners by 7 1/2 games with seven games left, including their home finale today. Seattle has eight games left. One Angels victory or one Mariners loss will send the Angels into the playoffs, so it’s far too early for the Angels to panic or begin peeking over their shoulders for the ghosts of 1995.

But they do appear to be pressing. An excellent situational hitting team all season, the Angels had one hit, an infield single, in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position Saturday, laying to waste a superb emergency start by Bartolo Colon -- eight innings, three runs, eight hits, three strikeouts, no walks.

“Obviously, it would be nice to get it done at home, so maybe we are pressing a bit,” rookie catcher Jeff Mathis said. “We’ve just got to play our game, relax.”

The Angels had the right players up at the right time but were thwarted for most of the afternoon by Seattle starter Miguel Batista and six Mariners relievers.

Vladimir Guerrero, who entered with a .325 average, 26 home runs and 122 runs batted in, came up with two on and no outs in the first inning and grounded into a double play.

With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Garret Anderson bounced into an inning-ending double play.

After nicking Batista with Maicer Izturis’ RBI single in the sixth, the Angels loaded the bases with one out, but Howie Kendrick grounded into a fielder’s choice, Casey Kotchman being forced at home, and pinch-hitter Juan Rivera popped out.

Kendrick grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice with two on in the eighth, and with runners on first and third and one out in the ninth, Guerrero hit an RBI groundout to short and Seattle closer J.J. Putz blew a 96-mph fastball by Anderson for strike three and his 39th save.

“There’s a playoff-like atmosphere, the stadium is excited, but our guys have performed well through the pennant race,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “You’re not going to always be totally in sync, and some guys are searching with runners in scoring position. But no one is drastically coming out of their game because of the anticipation of reaching our first goal.”

Except for Colon, in a good way. The right-hander has been erratic through another injury-marred season and appeared to have no chance of making the playoff roster, but Saturday’s performance may have thrust him into the postseason picture.

Subbing for the injured Kelvim Escobar, Colon needed only 90 pitches to get through eight innings. He showed an excellent fastball that hit 94 mph and mixed in some good breaking balls and off-speed pitches.

The Mariners got two runs in the fourth, on Adrian Beltre’s RBI single and Ben Broussard’s RBI double, and Ichiro Suzuki added an RBI single in the fifth.

“No lies, this was a very important outing for me,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I know I have one more start. After that, it’s up to the Angels and Mike how I fit into the rotation.”

Colon is in the final year of a four-year, $51-million contract, and the fact that Saturday might have been his final game as an Angel in Anaheim was not lost on the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner.

“I’m hoping it’s not the last one because we’re making a push to go deep into the postseason,” Colon said. “Baseball is a business. What happens in the off-season, they’ll decide.

“If it is my last one, I’m proud of what the fans have shown me here through some very good and some very bad times. If this is my way of saying all my best to you guys, then I feel good about how the team has treated me.”

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Magic number

1 Combination of Angels wins and Seattle losses that will clinch the West (H: Home games left. A: Road games left.)

*--* WEST W L PCT GB H A ANGELS 91 64 587 -- 1 6 Seattle 83 71 539 7 1/2 6 2 *--*