BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Easley Relieved That Knee Only Sprained

There was no bulky knee brace or crutches. Second baseman Damion Easley, carried off the field on a stretcher Monday night, strolled into the Angel clubhouse Tuesday afternoon with hardly a notice of a limp and nothing but a Band-Aid on his injured left knee.

“A Band-Aid and a kiss and everything is all right,” said Easley, who suffered a sprained knee but could return as early as this weekend. “I feel a lot better than I thought I would. From last night until now there has been a dramatic improvement.”

Easley, who initially injured the knee during a first-inning slide into second base Monday night, thought he tore ligaments in the knee after making a diving stop of Tim Raines’ fifth-inning grounder and throwing him out.

He thought his season was over, and as he writhed on the ground and was eventually carried off field, the injury appeared severe enough to end his season.

But X-rays Monday night showed no fracture, and an MRI Tuesday morning revealed no abnormalities. There was minimal swelling, and Dr. Lewis Yocum said with daily therapy Easley could be in the lineup by Friday or Saturday.

“I was thinking the worst [Monday] night, and I felt like the worst had happened,” said Easley, whose pain, according to Yocum, was probably caused by spasms in the knee and not structural damage. “This is a great relief.”

Manager Marcel Lachemann’s sentiments, exactly. The Angels are already playing without starting shortstop Gary DiSarcina, who is recovering from a severe thumb injury, and to lose another middle infielder during the stretch drive might have been devastating.

“It’s far more positive than what it looked like when they carried him off on that stretcher,” Lachemann said.

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Bad news/good news stat of the day: The Angels have given up 17 home runs in the last eight games, but all of them were bases-empty blasts. . . . Batting instructor Rod Carew missed his second consecutive game Tuesday to attend to personal business.

DiSarcina experienced no discomfort in his left thumb after taking 60 swings with a bat from a soft toss and facing batting-practice grounders Tuesday afternoon. Yocum said he is pleased with the shortstop’s progress, and DiSarcina will continue to increase his work load in hopes of returning by the end of the regular season.