Percival to Undergo Tests

The already battered Angel pitching staff may have suffered another kick in the midsection. Closer Troy Percival felt weakness in his right shoulder while warming up in the bullpen during Monday night’s loss to the Yankees and is scheduled to undergo tests today at Centinela Medical Center in Inglewood.

“I’m shutting him down for a day or so,” Manager Terry Collins said. “He’s going to be examined by Dr. [Lewis] Yocum and then we’ll know more.

“I got him up in case we got a lead and he just didn’t feel like there was much there. Then he went back in the weight room and did a few strength things and said it felt weak.”

Speed gun readings have recorded a dramatic drop in the right-hander’s velocity. Percival, who usually throws in the 95-96 mph range, had a couple of fastballs drop below 90 mph during his last outing Saturday night against Cleveland when he gave up home runs to Brian Giles and Sandy Alomar.

“If I had gone out there last night, it would’ve been worse,” Percival said. “It’s been weak all spring, so that’s no different, but I wanted the doctor to look at it so I know what it is before I go out and do some real damage to it.

“It might just be a situation where I need to do some more lifting or maybe take some anti-inflammatories.”

Collins hopes that’s the case, but he isn’t taking any chances.

“If I asked Troy, I’m sure he’d pitch,” Collins said, “and, sure, I’d like to have the horse ready. But this is day seven and there’s a long way to go. I need him for 5 1/2 more months, not just one night.”

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Angel President Tony Tavares says he’s not “overly concerned” about the relatively meager crowds during the season-opening homestand, despite the presence of traditionally strong draws such as the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.

“I’m sure some people were skeptical about the stadium [construction] and the experience they might have, but I think we’ve overcome that,” Tavares said. “West Coast teams just don’t draw well early.”

Tavares says Angel attendance has also been hurt by competition from the Dodgers and Mighty Ducks.

“I think in the fervor to have everyone play in warm weather, we’ve lost sight of the direct competition,” he said. “I mean I understand it, Chicago had to cancel its game [Tuesday] because it was 27 degrees, but it’s silly to have teams in the same market playing at home at the same time.

“And we’ve already had a couple of occurrences where we’ve been competing with ourselves with hockey and baseball on the same night. That’s not a pretty experience for me.”

Tavares probably won’t be in a great mood today. The Angels conclude their series with the Yankees and the Ducks host the Kings. Both games begin at 7:30.

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Second baseman Luis Alicea, who suffered a dislocated middle finger on his right hand during batting practice Monday, missed his second game in a row Tuesday. . . . Randy Velarde underwent reconstructive surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow. Velarde will miss 10-12 months and rejoin the club next spring.