Ever since Los Angeles' playoff hopes dimmed sharply a week ago,
they have improbably been growing brighter with one spectacular
win after another.Bourjos connected for a bases-loaded single in the ninth inning, and the Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory, including three in their last at-bat.
"Oh, we never think we're out of it," said Torii Hunter, who had two hits. "There's a lot of faith in this clubhouse."
Howie Kendrick homered and tripled as the suddenly surging Angels matched their longest win streak of the season, trimming their AL West deficit to 3˝ games behind Texas. With the Rangers' 11-5 loss to Boston, the Angels crept closer to the division leader just five days after losing three of four in a head-to-head matchup that left them six games out.
"We know how many games we're back, but we don't talk about it," Kendrick said. "We've still got a month left, plus seven or eight days. Even though we went down seven games, we never thought we were out of it."
Chicago, which helped the Angels' cause last weekend by taking two of three from Texas, lost for just the sixth time in 17 games. The White Sox erased Los Angeles' eighth-inning lead when Paul Konerko drove in the tying run with a single that was his 2,000th hit.
"I'm glad it was a meaningful hit in the game," Konerko said. "It was a hitter's hit -- a line drive to right, just like my first hit."
But after Erick Aybar's one-out single off Jason Frasor (3-3), pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo moved him to third with a single -- and he alertly advanced to second on the throw, forcing the White Sox to walk Maicer Izturis to load the bases before Bourjos' hit easily scored Aybar.
"We saw Texas had lost, so that's a big win," said Bourjos, who extended his hitting streak to nine games with his winner. "We're just trying to climb back into it."
Jordan Walden (4-3) pitched the ninth inning after the Angels got another strong start from Ervin Santana, who gave up nine hits and four runs, pitching into the eighth inning in his seventh straight start.
Mark Buehrle yielded seven hits and four runs over six innings for the White Sox. Buehrle hasn't won at Angel Stadium since August 2001, but Konerko's eighth-inning hit took him off the hook for his first consecutive losses since April.
"This is probably one of the worst nights I've had," Buehrle said. "I didn't make too many good pitches. I don't think I was throwing anything close to really make them work or think about swinging. I was falling behind in the count with stuff that wasn't even close, throwing balls in the dirt. It's frustrating because, obviously, we need to win."
