Vaughn Backs Away--Not Down--From Johnson

Mo Vaughn has never backed down from Randy Johnson. In 10 major league seasons, the Angel first baseman and former Boston Red Sox slugger has never asked out of the lineup when baseball’s most dominating left-hander was pitching.

Vaughn has backed away from Johnson, though, and that may be why he’s one of the few left-handed hitters to have any success against the Diamondback ace and former Seattle Mariner star.

Against every other pitcher, Vaughn hugs the plate so much his hands are virtually in the strike zone. But against Johnson, who started against the Angels on Friday night, Vaughn sets up about six inches farther off the plate than he normally does.

This has made Vaughn a little less vulnerable to the inside pitch, and against Johnson, a power fastball/slider pitcher who thrives on the inside corner, this can make a huge difference.

While Johnson held left-handed hitters to a .185 average entering Friday night’s game, Vaughn was eight for 24 against him. Of the 10 home runs left-handers have hit against Johnson during his 12-year career, two were hit by Vaughn.

“I can’t say I’m comfortable against him, but I’ve had enough at-bats against him to feel OK,” said Vaughn, who struck out and singled in his first two at-bats Friday night.

“Some guys ask out of the lineup when he pitches. To me, that’s not what baseball is. You’re an everyday player, you play everyday. Just because it’s Randy Johnson, you don’t sit. You take your lumps like everyone else.”

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The shoulder tendinitis that sent pitcher Kent Bottenfield to the 15-day disabled list Thursday had been bothering the right-hander for about three weeks and was similar to a problem he was able to pitch through with the St. Louis Cardinals last May.

“I did all kinds of work to get it strong, but for whatever reason it hasn’t responded,” said Bottenfield, who didn’t last more than six innings in any of his last four starts.

“When it got to a point where I thought I’d be risking [major] injury, and with the way the bullpen has been used lately . . . we needed to get someone here who could go more than five innings.”

Bottenfield said the tendinitis didn’t really bother him until his pitch count neared 70. Then his arm would weaken, his shoulder slot would drop and his command would disappear.

“I’d try to throw a fastball down and away, and it would be up and in,” said Bottenfield, who is 4-5 with a 5.21 earned-run average. “When you’re a control pitcher with no control, you’re going to get knocked around.”

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With Thursday’s off day and another Monday, the Angels will go with a four-man rotation of Jarrod Washburn, Scott Schoeneweis, Seth Etherton and Brian Cooper for the next week. They won’t need a fifth starter until next Saturday at Baltimore.

By then, Tim Belcher, who is scheduled to make his second minor-league rehabilitation start today, could be ready to return. Soon thereafter, Ken Hill, Jason Dickson and Bottenfield should be back too.

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Garret Anderson is an everyday player who didn’t start Friday night, but the Angel center fielder did not ask out of the lineup. Manager Mike Scioscia, noting Anderson’s .000 lifetime average (0 for 9) against Johnson and his one-for-eight performance Tuesday and Wednesday, gave Anderson the night off.

TODAY

ANGELS’ JARROD WASHBURN

(1-1, 5.16 ERA)

vs. DIAMONDBACKS’ OMAR DAAL

(2-6, 5.35 ERA)

Bank One Ballpark, Phoenix, 1 p.m. PDT

TV--Channel 11 Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090)

* Update--Washburn was hit hard in his last start, giving up seven runs on eight hits, including two homers, in 5 1/3 innings against the Dodgers on Sunday, but he escaped with a no-decision because the Angels came back for an 8-7 victory. Angel outfielder Darin Erstad entered Friday night’s game with 99 hits. With a hit Friday night or today, he would become the quickest major leaguer to reach 100 hits since Heinie Manush, who had 100 in 60 games for the Washington Senators in 1934. The Angels play their 61st game today.