Vernon Wells puts together a big game in Angels’ 11-5 victory

As if the Angels and Washington Nationals didn’t do enough to fill a blooper reel Tuesday night, the usually sure-handed teams combining for seven errors and three wild pitches, Washington right-hander Todd Coffey provided even more comic relief in the sixth inning.

The bullpen gate swung open, and out burst Coffey, a 6-foot-4, 280-pounder who broke into a dead sprint on the warning track and didn’t stop until he got to the mound 90 yards away.

To an Angel Stadium crowd unfamiliar with Coffey’s game-entering shtick, it looked like a defensive lineman who recovered a fumble and raced the length of the field for a touchdown.

Which seemed fitting on a night both teams flexed some considerable muscle and fielded their positions like a bunch of offensive tackles.

The Angels prevailed, rallying for three runs on two homers in the sixth inning and crushing another homer in a five-run eighth for an 11-5 interleague victory that pushed their record to 41-40, the first time they’ve been above .500 since they were 30-29 on June 3.

“We broke it open with some big hits with runners in scoring position,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “When you drive the ball, it can get you back into games and break games open.”

The Angels haven’t driven the ball much at home, where they had only 14 homers in 36 games, as opposed to the 46 homers they have in 44 road games.

But Erick Aybar led off the sixth inning with a home run to right, and Vernon Wells lined a two-run shot to left, his 10th this season, to turn a 5-4 Angels deficit into a 6-5 lead.

Wells, who has hovered around the .200 mark all season, also singled to spark the eighth inning rally and cap a four-hit game that raised his average to .219, the highest it has been since opening day, when he was one for four.

Alberto Callaspo had a run-scoring single and first baseman Mark Trumbo atoned for a costly two-run error in the sixth by lining a two-run double to center.

Hank Conger followed with a two-run homer to right, giving the Angels their first three-homer game at home this season.

Reliever Bobby Cassevah preserved a one-run lead in the seventh when he got Wilson Ramos to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

The right-hander retired the side in order in the eighth, and Michael Kohn threw a scoreless ninth, as the Angels, who have won 11 of 16 games, improved to a major league-best 129-83 in interleague play since 2000.

“Our club is still built around pitching and defense, and we weren’t as crisp as we need to be tonight,” Scioscia said. “But we came up with some big plays when we needed them, the biggest one being the 5-4-3 double play in the seventh.”

The Nationals committed a major league-low 19 errors in 53 games from May 1 through Monday, but they made five Tuesday night, including one by shortstop Ian Desmond that allowed the Angels to end a 1-1 tie and take a 3-1 lead in the fifth.

The Angels countered with some ugly defense in the sixth, when first baseman Trumbo booted Roger Bernadina’s grounder with the bases loaded, allowing the last two runs of a four-run inning to score.

Scioscia warned before the series that the new turf installed after two U2 concerts might be a little unstable, and it looked it Tuesday night.

“The infield was a little rough for both teams, but I can’t blame the field,” Washington Manager Davey Johnson said.

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