BASEBALL: DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Robinson Ready to Pitch Again

Don Robinson pitched the equivalent of four innings in a simulated game Tuesday and said he is ready to be activated off the disabled list. Robinson was eligible to return last week but probably won’t be activated before next Tuesday at New York, the next time the Angels will need a fifth starter.

His catcher for Tuesday’s exercise was outfielder Chad Curtis, who caught in high school and warms up the Angels’ pitchers on occasion. Curtis wouldn’t mind being the emergency back-up catcher. “If they go three deep, I’m it,” Curtis said.

That declaration drew a laugh from Ron Tingley, usually the third catcher and now the backup to Mike Fitzgerald while Lance Parrish is on the disabled list. “That puts pressure on me and Fitzy,” Tingley said of Curtis’ bid.

Tiger first baseman Cecil Fielder, who last season became the first American Leaguer since 1932 to lead the major leagues in RBIs in two consecutive seasons, is expected to miss both games here. Fielder, who jammed his left hand while applying a tag last week, played against the Angels last week at Detroit. However, he has had enough discomfort since then to warrant a rest. Fielder has never homered at Anaheim Stadium. It was the only AL stadium in which he didn’t hit one in 1990, when he hit 51.

With left-hander Mark Langston starting for the Angels, second baseman Lou Whitaker didn’t start for Detroit. Whitaker and Alan Trammell, whose 15-year partnership makes them the major leagues’ longest-running double-play combination, have started as a duo in only 16 of the Tigers’ 32 games.

Junior Felix started in center field after missing two starts because of a slightly sprained right ankle. . . . Outfielder Tim Salmon hit .361 with four home runs and 23 RBIs for triple-A Edmonton in April. . . . Hubie Brooks’ choice to replace Mike Dunleavy as coach of the Lakers: Mike Fratello. “He didn’t do too bad with Atlanta,” said Brooks, an avid basketball fan. . . . The Angels, American Cancer Society and Orange County Dept. of Education today will play host to 250 athletic team coaches and team captains for a discussion of the dangers of smokeless tobacco. Angel pitcher Joe Grahe and head trainer Ned Bergert will speak to the group.