Angels work the late shift

Knuckleballs or fastballs.

Small ball or big blasts.

Soar ahead or come from behind.

Good teams or bad.

None of it seems to matter to an Angels team that has proved time and again in its march to the best record in baseball that no challenge is too daunting, no opponent too intimidating, no rally too unlikely.

They were at it again Sunday at Angel Stadium. They had blown a two-run lead to the Boston Red Sox, were being stifled by knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield and had given up the go-ahead run in the seventh inning on an error by right fielder Vladimir Guerrero.

The Angels didn’t need a rally monkey bouncing on the scoreboard screen to motivate them at that point. Blessed with myriad weapons and hardened by the resolve and confidence they have gained in amassing a 60-38 record, they fought their way back into the win column again, knocking Wakefield out in an eighth inning in which they smacked three doubles to pull out a 5-3 victory and pull off a sweep of the Red Sox.

Howie Kendrick’s double to left tied the score and Casey Kotchman’s two-run double to right was the difference. That and reliever Francisco Rodriguez’ strike-out-the-side ninth inning for his 40th save.

“I don’t know what happens to us after the seventh inning,” Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said, “but it is impressive. We can go out tonight, have a steak and it will go down real nice. But when we get up [this] morning, we have to forget about it.”

Hunter may be worried about overconfidence, but it will hard to forget this weekend in Anaheim as well as Boston. In winning their fifth game in a row, the Angels swept the Red Sox for the first time since 2001 and the first time at home since 1998.

That gave them a nine-game lead over Oakland in the AL West.

The Angels began the day looking as if they might simply overpower a Boston team that, despite the fact it was leading the AL East when this series began, is 2-10 in its last dozen road games, 21-32 overall away from home.

Guerrero and Hunter homered on consecutive pitches in the second inning against Wakefield (6-7). Guerrero’s ball sailed into the seats in the left-field corner for his 17th homer, then Hunter’s ball landed in the left-field bullpen for his 13th home run.

“He pumps you up, man,” Hunter said of Guerrero. “I got chills [after watching Guerrero’s home run]. I felt like I had to do something.”

Boston came right back in the third against Angels starter Jon Garland. Dustin Pedroia hit a single through Garland’s legs into center field with one out. With two out Manny Ramirez doubled home Pedroia, and Mike Lowell followed with a single to tie the score.

And that’s the way it stayed until the Boston seventh, when Coco Crisp walked and stole second. When Garland threw his 112th pitch of the afternoon to Red Sox leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury, he figured he had done enough to stay in the game, the result being a line drive directly at Guerrero. But Guerrero dropped it, allowing Crisp to score.

In the Angels’ eighth, consecutive doubles by Juan Rivera and Kendrick tied the score and ended Wakefield’s afternoon. After a sacrifice by Jeff Mathis and a walk to Chone Figgins, Kotchman untied it with a line drive into right against Boston reliever Manny Delcarmen.

Enter Rodriguez, who has 40 saves in 98 games, the fastest in major league history.

“There are still a lot of challenges ahead,” warned Mike Scioscia, the Angels’ ever-cautious manager.

The biggest at this point appearing to be overconfidence.

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steve.springer@latimes.com