John Lackey returns to familiar place
The stadium where John Lackey helped secure the most momentous victory in Angels history seemed a bit foreign Monday afternoon.
Unsure of the location of the visitors’ clubhouse, the pitcher entered the field from an opening in right field before descending into the dugout along the first base line. He eventually found his clubhouse locker beneath the stadium and slipped on the gray uniform of the Boston Red Sox.
But the right-hander plans on making himself at home again here Tuesday, when he starts against his former team at Angel Stadium for the first time.
“I won a lot of games in this stadium,” said Lackey, who was 102-71 in eight seasons with the Angels and was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series as a 24-year-old rookie. “So it will be comfortable once I get out there for sure.”
Lackey, 31, will be opposed by Jered Weaver, whom Lackey mentored for parts of four seasons before signing a five-year, $82.5-million contract with Boston in December.
“It will be an honor to share the mound with a guy who helped me get to where I am today,” Weaver said.
Lackey said he has enjoyed his first season with the Red Sox, who trail Tampa Bay and the division-leading New York Yankees in the American League East.
He is 9-5 with a 4.36 earned-run average and held the Angels to two hits and one run in seven innings May 5 during Boston’s 3-1 victory at Fenway Park.
Lackey laughed when asked how much more intense the environment was at his new home ballpark compared with Angel Stadium.
“It’s a little different,” he said. “Everything’s amped up several degrees.”
Lackey said he didn’t know what kind of reception to expect from Angels fans but added that he “hopes they respect the things I did here, for sure.”
If nothing else, there will at least be a friendly wager between Lackey and Weaver.
“I don’t know if we can print that or not,” Weaver said, smiling. “We’ll see what happens. We’ll definitely have a couple of cold Pepsis after the game to talk about it.”
Take (away) the fifth
Manager Mike Scioscia said he would use days off Thursday and Aug. 2 to keep his top four starting pitchers on regular rest, pushing back the need for a fifth starter until the Angels play Detroit on Aug. 7. That means Dan Haren will pitch against division-leading Texas on Saturday and Weaver will face the Rangers on Sunday.
Scioscia said he hoped that Scott Kazmir could return by the next time the fifth spot in the rotation comes up again so that subsequent days off could be used to give starters extra rest.
Kazmir, recovering from fatigue in his left shoulder, threw long toss Monday and said he hoped to begin throwing off a mound in the next few days.
Short hops
The Angels selected the contract of reliever Michael Kohn from triple-A Salt Lake and optioned Trevor Bell to the Bees. Kohn, a hard-throwing right-hander who was selected the Angels’ most outstanding rookie of spring training, was 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA in 26 appearances with Salt Lake. … Howie Kendrick was out of the starting lineup for the second time in three days, with Scioscia saying he wanted the infielder to recharge. Maicer Izturis started at second base.
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