And if there's a good time for Chapter 2 to begin, this would be it.

Thursday afternoon's 12-inning, 5-4 victory over Boston started the transition. Ervin Santana, the first of the injured Angels to return, gave his team five good innings, yielding three runs, striking out five and hitting 93 to 94 mph on the radar gun during his 92-pitch stint.

With Santana back, John Lackey returning to the rotation Saturday and Vladimir Guerrero within maybe another couple of weeks away, they're getting closer to being the Angels As We Know Them.

The timing is quite good. They've won six of seven, nine of 12 in May, moved three games above .500 and begin a road trip tonight in Texas 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Rangers in the American League West.

You get the feeling that the Rangers' division lead is sort of tenuous? That now that the big kids are out of school, order is about to be restored in this neighborhood?

"We were grinding in April, trying to keep our head above water," Torii Hunter said of the Angels' 9-12 start. "We were just holding it down until the big dogs got back.

"Santana's back. Lackey will be back Saturday. Vladimir's coming back (soon), and (Kelvim) Escobar, you never know. We're pretty excited. Those four guys are All-Stars, and they're going to be coming back into this lineup and giving us a chance to win."

There was a less noticed development Thursday that might also suggest brighter times ahead.

The Angels entered the day last in the league in bullpen ERA (6.90). Santana's pitch limit put more responsibility on the bullpen going in, and extra innings only added to the burden.

But the Angels bullpen responded magnificently: one run, allowed by Scot Shields in the eighth, over seven innings.

And if you want one shining moment, how about Jason Bulger getting out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 12th by striking out Dustin Pedroia and getting David Ortiz on a catcher-to-first putout?

"If our style of Baseball means getting the last six or seven outs of a game with a good bullpen, then yeah, we were away from it for a little bit," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "Guys maybe weren't comfortable with the way they were throwing the ball down there. As that returns, our team will begin to play with more continuity, more consistency.

"Today I think the guys threw the ball well . . . It wasn't always clean, but it looked like they all had a purpose and they were all throwing the ball well. They put up some zeroes and gave us a chance to win the ballgame."

The Angels As We Know Them have had a lights-out bullpen throughout Scioscia's tenure. One great day is no reason to suggest that the 2009 'pen is all the way back from its struggles - the most recent a blown lead to the Red Sox Tuesday night - but it's a sign of hope.

If that flaw gets fixed, there's no reason these Angels shouldn't be playing in October.

Again.

Reach Jim Alexander at 951-368-9543 or jalexander@PE.com and follow him at twitter.com/Jim_Alexander