Disappointed Cooper Not About to Speak Up

Pitcher Brian Cooper wanted to start the ninth inning Wednesday night and was disappointed he didn’t get a chance to finish his shutout, but the young right-hander who has made only 10 big-league starts was not about to complain to Manager Mike Scioscia.

“Maybe if I get five more years under my belt I can say something about it,” said Cooper, who threw eight scoreless innings before the Devil Rays scored three off closer Troy Percival in the ninth to win, 3-2. “I’m sure [Scioscia] knows I want to stay in there.

“But Troy is pretty solid. You figure we have a 2-0 lead, it’s over, a done deal. But these things happen. He’ll be back [today], ready to go. He’ll be there plenty more times to pick me up.”

Cooper may not have many more starts before he is sent down. With Tim Belcher, Ken Hill, Kent Bottenfield and Jason Dickson due to come off the disabled list soon, Cooper likely is headed for triple-A Edmonton.

But his 92-pitch effort Wednesday, in which Cooper struck out four and walked only one, sure gave Scioscia plenty to think about.

“This was a big start for me with all that’s happening,” Cooper said. “Every start I’ve had, one pitch wasn’t working or my control was not there. I felt real comfortable, and I was getting the ball where I wanted. That’s me. That’s how I like to pitch right there.”

*

There almost was complete silence in the Angel clubhouse after the game, as Darin Erstad consoled Percival and players tried to come to grips with a game that seemed in hand but was lost with a lightning-quick Devil Ray rally in the bottom of the ninth. But utter devastation, this was not.

“It’s a 162-game season, we’re not machines, and these things are going to happen,” Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn said. “But this team has never gotten down. We always seem to come back strong after tough losses. We have to come out [today] not thinking about [Wednesday]. That’s the only way you can play this game, and this team is good at that.”

*

Shortstop Kevin Stocker has been slow to recover from a strained left hip that sidelined him for the fourth consecutive game Wednesday, but Scioscia said he made some progress and should be ready to return for the Baltimore series this weekend. . . . A radio report in Chicago said the Angels are among the teams bidding for slugger Sammy Sosa, but Angel President Tony Tavares said there is “zero chance” the Angels would get involved in Sosa trade talks. . . . Bottenfield, on the disabled list because of shoulder tendinitis, has begun playing catch and hopes to throw from a bullpen mound this weekend. . . . Hill, out since May 10 because of a strained rib-cage muscle, will move to triple-A Edmonton for his second rehabilitation start tonight.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’

JARROD WASHBURN

(2-1, 4.42 ERA)

vs.

DEVIL RAYS’

STEVE TRACHSEL

(4-6, 5.22 ERA)

Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla., 4:15 p.m. PDT

TV--Channel 9. Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Update--When Hill, Bottenfield, Tim Belcher and Jason Dickson all return from the disabled list, the final spot in the rotation probably will come down to Scott Schoeneweis and Washburn. So Washburn, who gave up one run on five hits and struck out six in Saturday’s 10-3 win over Arizona, essentially is pitching for a big league job every time he makes the mound. Trachsel had back-to-back 1-0 wins over Boston’s Pedro Martinez and New York’s Orlando Hernandez May 6 and 11 but has struggled in many of his other starts.