Kennedy Searching for Stroke

Angel batting instructor Mickey Hatcher has stressed the importance of hitting more line drives and ground balls and fewer fly balls, of being more aggressive in hitter’s counts and not trying to do too much in pitcher’s counts, of maintaining a consistent mental approach.

But rookie second baseman Adam Kennedy knows the responsibility for getting out of his first big league slump falls squarely on his shoulders.

“Mickey can only tell me so much,” Kennedy said. “It’s going to take me to get it going again. I’ve got to remember how I was when things were going good, and I’ve got to get that feeling and timing and back.”

Kennedy was hitting .304 with 23 runs batted in and 25 runs on May 12 after a three-hit, two-RBI performance in a 13-11 loss to Texas, and he was being mentioned as an early candidate for rookie of the year.

In his next 13 games, Kennedy went seven for 56 with two RBIs and six runs, his average falling to .257. Manager Mike Scioscia did not play Kennedy on Tuesday or Wednesday in Cleveland.

When Kennedy returned Friday night against the Dodgers, it was in the eighth spot, not the No. 2 spot he held since opening day, Scioscia’s first major lineup shakeup of the season.

“He’s been trying to do too much with some pitches,” Scioscia said. “At the beginning of the season, he was using the whole field, keeping the ball out of the air.”

Kennedy put the ball into the air in the third inning Friday night, but that was fine by Scioscia and Hatcher. His two-run homer to right-center, his first since April 27, gave the Angels a 6-1 lead over the Dodgers.

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After a grueling week, in which he suffered severe flu-like symptoms and had so little energy he barely could get out of bed, reliever Mark Petkovsek finally gained the upper hand on his viral syndrome Sunday, and he should be ready to be activated from the disabled list in a few days.

“That was the first day I got up and didn’t feel I had to go back to bed,” said Petkovsek, who was 2-2 with a 7.13 earned-run average in 19 games before being sidelined May 23. “I couldn’t shake it.”

Petkovsek did some light throwing and exercises Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and he threw off the mound for the first time Friday afternoon.

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Jason Dickson, on the disabled list since May 15 because of a sore shoulder and tendinitis in his left hip, and Ken Hill, sidelined since May 10 because of a strained rib-cage muscle, both threw batting practice for about 15 minutes Friday afternoon.

Pitching coach Bud Black said both right-handers will throw a simulated game or two in the next five or six days and will likely begin minor league rehabilitation assignments within a week of Tim Belcher, who is scheduled to start for triple-A Edmonton on Monday.