Angels make their hits go a long way

The double play might be a pitcher’s best friend, but right-hander Jered Weaver expanded his social circle Wednesday night to include a different chum, one usually foreign to Angels pitchers: the three-run home run.

And who would have guessed it? Weaver’s new pal had a twin brother.

The Angels blasted not one but two three-run home runs, one by Gary Matthews Jr. in the first inning and one by Vladimir Guerrero in the fifth, en route to an 8-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Casey Kotchman added a solo home run in the first, marking the first time since Sept. 11, 2005, that the Angels’ 3-4-5 hitters homered in the same game. Garret Anderson, Guerrero and Darin Erstad last accomplished the feat against the Chicago White Sox in U.S. Cellular Field.

Relievers Dustin Moseley (4-0), Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez combined to give up one run in 4 1/3 innings, with Rodriguez striking out Raul Ibanez, Jose Guillen and Ben Broussard, the Mariners’ 3-4-5 hitters, on nasty sliders for his 18th save.

That gave the Angels 11 wins in their last 14 games, 16 wins in their last 21, improved their home record to 19-7 and pushed their American League West lead over Seattle to 5 1/2 games.

“It’s good, obviously, because there are going to be times when we don’t do well offensively and the pitchers keep the game close,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “God willing, we’ll continue to give them a lot of support, because we have a very good pitching staff.”

Weaver had won his last three starts, limiting the Rangers, Dodgers and Yankees to six earned runs and 18 hits in 18 2/3 innings, but he seemed out of sorts Wednesday night, getting tagged for five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He also walked three batters, two of whom eventually scored.

“Jered got behind on some counts and walked some guys,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He just wasn’t crisp.”

Guillen hit an RBI single in the first, Jose Lopez and Ichiro Suzuki had RBI singles in the fourth, and the Mariners added two more runs in the fifth on doubles by Broussard and Adrian Beltre and Yuniesky Betancourt’s RBI single, giving them a 5-4 lead.

But thanks to three mighty swings of the bat from the team that ranks 13th in the league in home runs, Weaver escaped with a no-decision, and the Angels pulled out a victory.

After Orlando Cabrera and Guerrero singled in the first inning, Matthews crushed a Felix Hernandez pitch far over the center-field wall for his seventh home run of the season.

Kotchman followed by ripping a full-count changeup over the wall in center, his fifth of the season, to give the Angels a 4-1 lead and increase their first-inning scoring edge over opponents this season to 59-22.

After the Mariners took the lead in the top of the fifth, Reggie Willits led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, and Cabrera singled to right. Guerrero then lined a 1-and-2 fastball on the outer half of the plate over the wall in right-center for his 11th homer of the season and first since May 17, giving the Angels a 7-5 lead.

“I wasn’t looking for that pitch,” Guerrero said. “The only thing I’ve been doing lately with two strikes is to remind myself to protect the zone, especially on the outside part of the plate. I was looking for location there.”

Ibanez’s RBI double off Moseley pulled the Mariners within 7-6 in the sixth, but the Angels countered in the seventh when Willits tagged from third and scored after Betancourt, the Seattle shortstop, made an over-the-shoulder catch of pinch-hitter Robb Quinlan’s pop to shallow left-center.

“We have some guys who can drive the ball,” Scioscia said. “We’re not going to get three home runs a night, but we’ll take them when we can get them.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com