Infection KO’d Vaughn

Returning to the Angel lineup as designated hitter Tuesday night seemed like an added bonus for Mo Vaughn. Just returning to his feet was a real treat after a staph infection of his right shin literally knocked Vaughn out for four or five days.

“I felt like someone had poisoned me or something,” Vaughn said. “Every joint in my body seized up, and I had no motor functions. It wasn’t like a flu because I wasn’t coughing. It was a virus that made your whole body ache.”

Vaughn sat out six games and felt so sick last week he had to be hospitalized one day and couldn’t make it to Edison Field for two games. On the days he came to the stadium for treatment, he appeared so listless it was as if the infection had zapped every ounce of energy from his body.

“When I got some knowledge of the situation, I realized it was pretty serious,” Vaughn said. “My lymph nodes were swollen, and I knew something was wrong with me. I wasn’t really scared, but that was as sick as I’ve ever been.”

There is a risk of a staph infection spreading to vital organs, but an aggressive treatment program--antibiotics were both injected and given to Vaughn orally--kept the infection in check and eventually eliminated it.

Vaughn has always prided himself on playing hurt, on playing through illness, but a severely sprained ankle suffered on opening night sent him to the disabled list and has hindered him all season, and this staph infection set him back another week.

“This just caps off the entire season injury-wise, for me and the team,” Vaughn said. “I’ve got enough stuff out of the way for the next seven years. . . . I can’t explain why these things happen to us as a team, to me as an individual. It’s just not typical. But it’s got to break some time. It’s got to get better.”

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Lost in Monday night’s 4-0 loss to the Indians was Angel reliever Mike Holtz’s best outing of the season, and maybe his best appearance in two years. The left-hander threw two hitless innings, striking out three and walking none, and pitched with the kind of command that has been lacking for the past two years. “He located his pitches, his curve was working, and he kept his fastball down,” Manager Terry Collins said. “That had to be a tremendous confidence boost for him.” . . . Reserve outfielder Matt Luke, on the disabled list since June 26 because of a partial tear of a muscle in his rib cage, re-injured his back Sunday and is out indefinitely. . . . Lou Pote, who was called up Monday when Jack McDowell was released, was a starter at triple-A Edmonton, but he will pitch out of the bullpen for at least a week. With an off day Thursday, Collins won’t need a fifth starter until Tuesday.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ STEVE SPARKS (5-8, 4.88 ERA) vs. INDIANS’ DAVE BURBA (8-7, 4.90 ERA)

Edison Field, 7:30 p.m.

TV--Fox Sports West. Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--Some believe Burba, who has given up nine runs on 13 hits in 10 2/3 innings of his last two games, has been relying too heavily on his split-fingered fastball in recent starts. The right-hander had one of his best games of the season against the Angels in Edison Field, giving up one unearned run on three hits and striking out 10 in six innings of a 9-1 victory on April 7. Sparks had control problems in his last start against Boston Friday, but the knuckleballer gave up only three earned runs on six hits in six innings of a 5-1 loss.

* Tickets: (714) 663-9000