Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton is certain he’ll return for playoffs

Josh Hamilton, who has missed 18 of the last 19 games because of right shoulder, chest and rib-cage injuries, probably will sit out the Angels’ final three regular-season games in Seattle this weekend, but he said he has “no doubt” he will return for the playoffs next week.

That means by the time the Angels open the American League division series on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Anaheim, the left fielder will have had three at-bats in four weeks, all of them coming in a Sept. 16 game against Seattle when he singled once.

But Hamilton didn’t sound the least bit concerned about his inactivity as he spoke about his situation after the Angels’ 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.

“There’s no sense in me coming back and having an issue or a setback -- I can use the extra days and then play,” said Hamilton, who is batting .263 with 10 homers and 44 RBIs in 88 games this season. “I know you guys think, ‘Well, he hasn’t had any at-bats, how’s he going to feel?’ Blah-blah-blah. It doesn’t really matter.

“I’m just going off past experiences. I’ve been through it before, where I’ve missed a whole month of September, came back for the playoffs and did well. So who knows what’s going to happen?”

During the 2010 season, when he was the most valuable player, Hamilton missed most of September with the Texas Rangers because of cracked ribs. He returned for the final three regular-season games and homered off Angels pitcher Ervin Santana in his second game back.

After hitting .111 (two for 18) in the division series that October against Tampa Bay, Hamilton hit .350 (seven for 20) with four homers and seven RBIs in the AL Championship Series against Detroit.

Hamilton hit cleanup for most of this season, but with Howie Kendrick entrenched in the fourth spot, Hamilton will probably bat seventh and start at designated hitter in the playoffs. He is expected to take some swings against live pitching next week.

Would Manager Mike Scioscia be comfortable starting Hamilton in the playoffs after such a long layoff?

“We’ll see what we’re presented with and where we are before making a decision,” Scioscia said. “Ideally, we would like to get him some at-bats. But it’s not like spring training, where he’s been down for four or five months.”