Erstad Doesn’t Stay Long After Game-Opening Single

First baseman Darin Erstad’s return to the starting lineup Thursday night was brief but eventful.

Erstad drilled Ranger right-hander Rick Helling’s first pitch of the game into the gap in left-center field, stumbled out of the batter’s box, hobbled to first base on what should have been a double, and jogged to second on Randy Velarde’s walk.

Manager Terry Collins and third base coach Larry Bowa came out to second base, and, after a brief discussion, pulled Erstad, fearing he could do serious damage to his strained left hamstring.

“It’s not a setback--I just wasn’t ready to play,” Erstad said. “That first step out of the box is hard to simulate, and I couldn’t accelerate. It was tight. It was my body telling me I wasn’t ready to run.”

Collins had hoped Erstad could make like injured designated hitter Tim Salmon, conserving himself by jogging to first on routine ground balls and fly balls and only running hard if he absolutely had to.

“That’s going to be the toughest thing,” Erstad said before the game. “Your instincts take over in certain situations. Hopefully, I won’t do anything stupid. I’ll just be careful.”

Erstad did not appear to over-extend himself on his hit. Though the ball came within a few feet of the warning track, he made no attempt to stretch it into a double.

But Collins, who defended his decision to start Erstad by saying “he could re-injure it today just as bad as he could next Tuesday,” did not want to take any chances.

“I just couldn’t let him stand at second and try to score on a hit,” the manager said. “He didn’t tweak it. He was just trying to be too careful. I took a chance playing him. I’ll take responsibility. But at least he didn’t hurt it again.”

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Ranger reliever Greg Cadaret, released by the Angels in August, was itching to pitch against his former teammates, and he got the chance Thursday night, getting Gregg Jefferies to line out to end the fourth and giving up a leadoff double to Garret Anderson in the fifth before being replaced by Tim Crabtree.

“The way my tenure there ended, it’s pretty easy to work up some animosity toward them,” Cadaret said. “Everyone assumes I got released because I was a bad guy. You don’t have the year I was having and get released.”

Cadaret, a journeyman left-hander, went 1-2 with a 4.14 ERA, one save and five holds in 38 games with the Angels, allowing only eight of 37 inherited runners to score and limiting left-handed hitters to a .233 average.

He has appeared in seven games for the Rangers, giving up one run in three innings, and recorded a huge out in Tuesday night’s 6-5 victory over Baltimore, getting Rafael Palmeiro to pop to short with the bases loaded to end the seventh.

“I look at how many inherited runners scored and what left-handers did against me,” Cadaret said of his Angel tenure. “What was I supposed to do, strike everyone out? I guess so. But it’s water under the bridge. All I want to do is win the pennant.”

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Angel catcher Phil Nevin wore an air cast on his left ankle and was on crutches after Thursday night’s game, but he does not believe a sprained ankle suffered on a play at the plate will sideline him.

Juan Gonzalez had doubled to center in the second inning, but Tom Goodwin waited to tag at second and got a late start as the ball hit the wall. Center fielder Jim Edmonds threw to Velarde, the Angel second baseman, and Velarde fired a one-hop strike to Nevin, who was clipped by Goodwin as he blocked the plate.

Goodwin over-ran the plate and was tagged out, but not before Nevin twisted his ankle while making the play. Nevin remained in the game but came out in the seventh.

“If I tape it up real good I should be able to play [tonight],” Nevin said. “I just want to stay off it right now.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Seattle Mariners, three games.

* Site--Edison Field.

* Tonight--7 p.m.

* TV--Fox Sports West tonight, Channel 9 Saturday night.

* Radio--KRLA (1110), XPRS (1090), KIK-FM (94.3).

* Records--Angels 81-71, Mariners 71-80.

* Record vs. Mariners--7-2.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ KEN HILL (9-5, 5.03 ERA) vs. MARINERS’ KEN CLOUDE (8-10, 6.55 ERA)

* Update--The Angels had to face the opponent’s top two pitchers in each of their last three series: Baltimore’s Mike Mussina and Scott Erickson, Tampa Bay’s Rolando Arrojo and Wilson Alvarez and Texas’ Rick Helling and Todd Stottlemyre. That will not be the case against the Mariners, as they will miss both Jeff Fassero and Jamie Moyer. Hill, who was supposed to start Monday night but was pushed back to tonight because of inflammation in his elbow, will pitch exclusively from the stretch to relieve pressure on his elbow.

* Saturday, 7 p.m.--Jack McDowell (4-3, 4.66) vs. Mac Suzuki (1-1, 4.42).

* Sunday, 5 p.m.--Omar Olivares (8-8, 3.91) vs. Paul Abbott (2-0, 5.06).