Hill’s Elbow Gives Angels Pain

Angel right-hander Ken Hill was all over the place Wednesday night, his pitches finding everything but the strike zone.

He fell behind nine of 11 batters in two innings, walked two and gave up three runs on three hits.

But it was hard to know if something was wrong with Hill because this is how he has pitched all season--so erratically he leads the American League with 53 walks and has won three games, hardly the kind of production you’d expect from a pitcher making $5.5 million.

This time, though, something was wrong. The right elbow that required surgery and sidelined Hill for 2 1/2 months last season felt tight, and Hill was pulled after two innings of an 8-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners before 25,087 in the Kingdome.

Hill said afterward that he has been suffering from arthritis in the elbow all season and that it flared up to the point where he couldn’t continue Wednesday night.

“I don’t think it’s serious,” said Hill, who will return to Southern California today to be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum, the team’s physician. “It’s a day-to-day thing. I’ve had it all year.”

Left-hander Mike Magnante replaced Hill and gave up three runs on five hits in three innings, as the Angels fell 8 1/2 games behind Texas.

Seattle left-hander John Halama gave up two runs on six hits in six innings for the win.