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Bartolo Colon
may be the ace of the
Los Angeles Angels
pitching staff, but he may have a tough time matching the performance of his replacement when he returns to the mound on Sunday
for the first time in two months.
Colon tries to help the
Los Angeles Angels
take two of three from the
San Diego Padres
when the teams meet at Angel Stadium.
After going 21-8 last season en route to the AL Cy Young Award, Colon (0-2, 7.07 ERA) struggled in his first three outings
of 2006 before landing on the disabled list April 19 with right shoulder inflammation.
He made three rehab starts in the minors and was activated by the Angels (31-37) on Friday. To make room for him on the roster,
Los Angeles sent rookie
Jered Weaver
back to Triple-A Salt Lake. Weaver, the Angels' first-round pick in 2004, was 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in four starts since being
called up on May 26.
''Right now we have some things to settle in our rotation,'' Angels manager
Mike Scioscia
said. ''Bart's coming back with a little bit of uncertainty, and we wanted to make sure we're where we need to be.''
Colon has thrown only 14 innings in his three major league starts this season. He threw a bullpen session on Friday with no
problems, but should other health concerns arise, Weaver could be called back up.
''I figured it was going to happen sooner or later, and the time has come,'' Weaver said. ''Bart's coming back and I'm the
odd man out.''
Colon dominated the Padres (35-33) the only time he faced them, when he was with Montreal on Aug. 19, 2002, throwing a two-hit
complete game and surrendering only two walks in the Expos' 4-0 win.
Los Angeles won 3-2 on Saturday, scoring the go-ahead runs on an inside-the-park home run by
Dallas McPherson
.
McPherson hit a ball down the left-field line that bounced off
Dave Roberts
' glove. Roberts slammed awkwardly into the fence, banging his right knee, and as the ball rolled away, McPherson rounded
the bases with the Padres' left fielder unable to get up.
Roberts left the field on a cart and taken to a hospital for X-rays. His condition was not yet known after the game. Roberts
typically bats leadoff for the Padres and is hitting .295 with a team-leading 19 steals.
''I got a good view of it and it didn't look good,'' said
Eric Young
, who replaced Roberts in left field. ''But that's the way Dave plays - all out. He was lunging and going into the concrete,
and when I saw him grab his knee, I said, 'Oh-oh.'
''Hopefully he's not hurt real bad because he's our catalyst.''
With a win Sunday, the Angels will finish 5-5 on their homestand. Saturday's win was Los Angeles' first in interleague play
this season to go with four defeats.
Chan Ho Park
(4-3, 4.15) looks to win his third straight decision when he starts for San Diego on Sunday. The right-hander allowed one
run and three hits in six innings in the Padres' 9-1 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday.
He is 4-7 with a 6.05 ERA in 16 career starts against the Angels, losing six of his last seven decisions.
In his last start against the Angels, on June 21 last season when he was with the
Texas Rangers
, Park gave up 10 hits and eight runs in one inning, the shortest outing of his career.
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