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Ending is quite a catch for Figgins

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Times Staff Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Manager Mike Scioscia, ejected for arguing umpire Joe West’s third-strike call on Vladimir Guerrero in the eighth inning Monday night, did not see the last out of the Angels’ 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in person.

Neither, it seemed, did Chone Figgins, though the Angels third baseman had a hand in the out. Or, rather, a glove.

With two outs in the ninth, Ian Kinsler hit a wicked one-hopper that shot high over Figgins’ head. Figgins, turning away from the infield to shield his face, thrust his left arm straight up, and somehow the ball landed in his glove.

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Figgins, well behind the bag, fired a one-hop throw to first baseman Casey Kotchman to end the game.

“I saw it bounce and put up the glove,” Figgins said. “I was trying to not get killed.”

Scioscia watched the play on a clubhouse television because he took exception to West’s call in the eighth. Jamey Wright’s full-count pitch with the bases loaded was caught near Guerrero’s ankles, but West called it a strike.

“Joe’s a good umpire,” Scioscia said after his 18th career ejection, “but I don’t know that I’ve seen him miss one like that.”

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Howie Kendrick said his strained left hamstring felt better, but the hard-hitting second baseman isn’t expected to return until this weekend, at the earliest.

“He’s a little sore,” Scioscia said. “We’re going to give this thing a little time to get a read on it, to see what direction it’s going. . . . You want to be cautious. You don’t want to come back too quickly, and you don’t want to put him on the disabled list too quickly. Some guys strain a hamstring, they’re playing within a week. Some guys, it takes longer. We’ll see.”

Kendrick, who is batting .500 (18 for 36) with five doubles and a triple, was injured Sunday in Seattle when he tried to accelerate between first and second on his seventh-inning double.

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The Angels and Rangers are among the nine clubs whose entire rosters will wear No. 42 today in celebration of Jackie Robinson Day.

Originally, seven Angels -- Gary Matthews Jr., Torii Hunter, Darren Oliver, Garret Anderson, Guerrero, Figgins and Kendrick -- intended to wear No. 42 today.

But late last week, General Manager Tony Reagins called pitcher John Lackey, the team’s union representative, to suggest the entire team wear No. 42.

“He welcomed it,” Reagins said. “What Jackie meant to this game is historical, and we’re honoring that.”

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Hunter, who missed Sunday’s game because of a jammed big left toe, started in center field Monday. . . . Though his condition has not improved considerably, Preston Gomez, the 84-year-old scouting consultant who was seriously injured in a March 26 car accident, has been stabilized enough to be transferred from a Palm Springs hospital to one in Orange County.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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