Angels clinch AL West pennant

ANAHEIM, California. – Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Los Angeles Angels wasted no time clinching their third straight AL West title with an 11-0 victory over the second-place Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Ervin Santana pitched a seven-hitter for his fourth career shutout, while Maicer Izturis had three hits and two RBIs to wrap up the Angels’ sixth playoff berth in eight seasons. Los Angeles (92-64) will open at home in the best-of-five first round next week – most likely against Boston, a familiar nemesis. The Red Sox need one win or a Texas loss to earn the AL wild card.

Needing one victory in this four-game series to secure their fifth division title in six years, the Angels swiftly eliminated any suspense.

With Morales and Vladimir Guerrero propelling the offense, Los Angeles took a 7-0 lead in the third inning against Texas rookie Tommy Hunter (9-5), who struggled mightily in the shortest start of his promising season. Erick Aybar and Guerrero drove in two runs apiece, while Bobby Abreu had three hits.

After the final out, the Angels formed a mob on the field around Santana (8-8), slapping his shoulders and rubbing his head. Although the right-hander is likely to be in Los Angeles’ bullpen in the playoffs, Santana made sure manager Mike Scioscia won’t forget him, earning his first win in seven starts and second shutout this season.

About 10 minutes into their beer-and-champagne celebration in the clubhouse, the Angels surrounded and joyously soaked the jersey of Nick Adenhart, the 22-year-old pitcher who died in a car accident in April. The Angels have taken Adenhart’s jersey on every road trip and kept his locker intact in memory.

“We had a rough start, lost a dear friend and teammate, and we didn’t do much in the first half,” outfielder Torii Hunter said. “We made this a very special season, though. We’re going to celebrate tonight, and then get ready for what’s next.”

Angels players returned to the field and several grabbed a hose from the grounds crew, using it to spray water on fans behind both dugouts. Then the Angels jogged to the outfield and touched Adenhart’s photo and No. 34 on the outfield fence. Players posed for a team photo in front of the image.

Tommy Hunter yielded seven hits and six earned runs, while the Rangers also made three errors and hit into three double plays while getting just one runner to third base.           (AP)