Guerrero looks for an edge at derby

When Vladimir Guerrero asked Dino Ebel to be his personal pitcher for Monday’s Home Run Derby, it took the Angels’ third base coach all of about one second to respond.

“I said, ‘Yes sir, I’ll do it,’ ” Ebel said. “I’m excited....We’re going there to win it.”

How Guerrero fares will hinge in part on Ebel, who has never been to a major league All-Star game but has pitched in two minor league home run derbies. Guerrero has been known to hit pitches out of the strike zone a long way, but his chances will improve if Ebel consistently hits his sweet spot.

“I’ll throw him four-seam fastballs down the middle,” Ebel said. “It will be just like batting practice. I’ll be fine. I throw to him all the time.”

Guerrero is an eight-time All-Star but has been in only one Home Run Derby, in 2000, when he hit two homers and was eliminated in the first round. He has turned down numerous derby invitations but decided to accept this season because he’s happy with his health and his swing.

“In the past, I never felt the way I’m feeling this year,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “I’m feeling better, so I want to please the fans and participate.”

Knowing how hard Guerrero swings, Manager Mike Scioscia has one concern: “Hopefully, he doesn’t dislocate something,” he said.

Some players avoid the Home Run Derby because they fear swinging for the fences will mess up their swing. Bobby Abreu won the 2005 derby with a record 41 homers but hasn’t had the same power since, with 15 homers in 2006 and five this season.

“The one thing about Vlad is, even in batting practice, when he hits a home run, he’ll stay on top of the next pitch and hit a line drive,” Scioscia said. “He keeps his swing where he needs to be.”

*

The Angels scored their first run in the third inning Saturday against the Yankees when Garret Anderson doubled, took third on Howie Kendrick’s grounder to first and scored on Jeff Mathis’ grounder to third.

The infield was in for Mathis, and Anderson broke for home with contact. Had third baseman Alex Rodriguez fielded the ball cleanly, he would have had an excellent shot at cutting down Anderson at the plate. But Rodriguez bobbled the ball, and his only play was to first.

Kendrick, who doubled and scored the winning run in the 13th inning, also backed pitcher John Lackey with two superb plays, diving to his left to smother Miguel Cairo’s shot to open the fifth and going behind the second base bag for Cairo’s leadoff grounder in the eighth.

*

Casey Kotchman was batting .333 when he suffered a concussion in a June 16 game against the Dodgers, an injury that sidelined the first baseman for seven games. In 10 games since returning, Kotchman has three hits in 36 at-bats, a skid that has dropped his average to .296.

“A concussion can never come at a good time, but I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, and it hasn’t come easy,” Kotchman said. “I feel OK. My vision is good. I’m just trying to pick up the ball in the pitcher’s hand and see it like I did before. I’m trying to get into a consistent rhythm.”

*

The Yankees committed five errors, their most since a five-error game in a 16-inning loss to Oakland on Aug. 9, 2002....Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera’s five strikeouts marked the fourth time in franchise history a Yankee had struck out five times in one game.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com