ANAHEIM, Calif. – Juan Rivera and Darin Erstad each drove in two runs, Vladimir Guerrero hit an RBI double and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3.

Paul Byrd (12-10) allowed a run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, striking out six and walking one. The right-hander worked with runners on base in each of the first five innings, giving up his only run on a double-play grounder by Brandon Inge with the bases loaded in the fifth. Byrd is 3-1 with a 0.91 ERA over his last four starts after going 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA in his previous seven outings.

Rookie center fielder Curtis Granderson, batting leadoff for the second time this season so Detroit second baseman Placido Polanco could rest a sore right shoulder, was 5-for-5 with a first-inning double to set a career high for hits.

Scot Shields came on in the ninth for his 72nd appearance this season, tying the Angels’ record set in 1967 by Minnie Rojas. Shields gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Dmitri Young before Francisco Rodriguez got two outs for his 38th save in 43 tries.

Matt Ginter (0-1) allowed five runs and 10 hits over 4 1-3 innings in his first start for the Tigers after 13 relief appearances. He got the assignment in place of Nate Robertson, who is 0-4 with a 9.41 ERA in his last four starts and 6-14 overall. Robertson complained of fatigue in his shoulder after giving up seven runs and seven hits over three innings in a 9-3 home loss to Minnesota last Tuesday night.

Ginter was a full-time reliever with the White Sox before the Mets converted him into a starter last year. The right-hander did both this season with Detroit’s Triple-A Toledo club, going 4-3 with a 5.09 ERA in 10 starts for the International League champion Mud Hens. As a reliever, he did not allow a run in 10 1-3 innings spanning seven outings.

A couple days ago, Tigers manager Alan Trammell said Ginter was best suited for middle relief, as opposed to starting. The Angels helped drive that point home with a three-run first, including Guerrero’s RBI double, a run-scoring groundout by Erstad and Rivera’s RBI single.

Erstad singled home a run in the third and Rivera added his second RBI single in the fifth, increasing the margin to 5-1.

Notes: Ginter threw 68 pitches. His highest pitch count in his 13 relief appearances for the Tigers also was 68, in a season-high five-inning stint against the Angels on May 15 at Detroit. … Guerrero leads the Angels with 31 homers, 103 RBIs and a .318 average. Last year’s AL MVP is trying to become the first player in the franchise’s 45-year history to lead the team in all three Triple Crown categories and play in 100 or more games in back-to-back seasons. … The Tigers have had at least one extra-base hit in 57 of their last 58 games, totaling 187 during that stretch. … The Angels took six of the 10 meetings with the Tigers and have won the last five season series by a combined 32-12 margin. … Byrd, facing the Tigers for the first time since his four-hit shutout on Sept. 14, 2002, at Detroit, is 5-1 with a 2.73 ERA lifetime against them. … Monday is the last day off for the Angels during the regular season. … In Thursday’s 8-6 victory over the Angels, Granderson had a three-run, inside-the-park homer and robbed Bengie Molina of a home run. … Craig Monroe had the only other five-hit game for the Tigers this season on Sept. 3 in Chicago against the White Sox.

AP-ES-09-18-05 1902EDT