Percival’s Neck Injury Produces Numbing Effect

Angel fans who booed Troy Percival when the closer gave up four consecutive hits in the ninth inning and blew a one-run lead in last Tuesday’s loss to Kansas City may be interested in this little revelation: His arm was so numb that night he could barely feel his fingers.

His arm felt the same Wednesday night, when he was shaky while saving a victory over the Royals, and it was this physical ailment more than mechanical difficulties that forced him to the sideline Thursday through Sunday.

The stubborn Percival tried to pitch through the numbness, and he refused to use it as an excuse. But when you carry a neck brace from your locker to the training room, as he did Monday morning, it’s obvious mechanics are not your only problem.

He is still feeling the effects of a 1992 car accident, in which he suffered a neck injury, and in recent years he has usually gone to a chiropractor once every homestand to have his spine realigned.

But because of a long trip this month, he went 20 days without seeing his chiropractor, and his condition--caused by a hypermobile vertebra that slides to the left and right--flared up again last week.

“It went nuts on me, and I didn’t get it fixed,” he said. “I couldn’t feel my arm, and when I can’t feel my arm, I don’t know where my arm angle is. It doesn’t hurt. It just gets numb.”

He finally got his neck and spine adjusted Sunday, and he played catch for the first time in four days before Monday’s game. Manager Mike Scioscia said Percival was available to pitch, though his services weren’t needed in a 10-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

“I’m still a little stiff, but I have feeling all the way down to my fingertips, and that’s good,” Percival said. “I just want to go pitch.”

*

Third baseman Troy Glaus, who started the Angels’ first 73 games, sat out his second game in a row because of lower back stiffness Monday, but Scioscia said the move was more of a precaution than one that could signal a trip to the disabled list.

“Troy said he could play [Monday]; this is my call,” Scioscia said. “He said he feels much better, but I want him better than much better. He’s not 100%, and I’d rather give him the extra day [of rest] than risk further injury.”

Scioscia had a perfect spot to use Glaus as a pinch-hitter with two on and two out in the ninth inning but allowed Adam Kennedy to bat against left-hander Eddie Guardado, who induced a game-ending fly out.

“[Glaus] tested it with a little soft toss in the cage,” Scioscia said, “but I didn’t think it would be wise to use him after sitting for three hours.”

*

Pitcher Jason Dickson will undergo surgery today to repair the labrum and tighten the capsule in his throwing shoulder, a procedure that will sideline him for the rest of the season and one that is almost identical to the one that forced him to miss the 1999 season.

“I’m kind of bummed out a bit because I know what comes with surgery, and I know what comes with rehabilitation and how tedious it is,” he said. “But the bottom line is I’ve got to do this, because I want to be better.”

ON DECK

* Opponent--Seattle Mariners, three games.

* Site--Safeco Field, Seattle.

* Tonight--7.

* Record vs. Mariners--1-2.

* TV--Channel 9 tonight and Thursday.

* Radio--KLAC (570), XPRS (1090).

* Records--Angels 39-36, Mariners 43-30.

TONIGHT

ANGELS’

TIM BELCHER

(2-0, 3.18 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’

AARON SELE

(8-3, 4.32 ERA)

* Update--The Angels begin an important 10-game stretch against the two teams ahead of them in the American League West when they face a Mariner team that has won six consecutive games and 13 of 16. After three games in Seattle, the Angels return home for three games against the first-place Oakland Athletics and four more against the Mariners. Seattle has outscored opponents, 431-329, and has been powered offensively by designated hitter Edgar Martinez (.357, 21 homers, 77 RBIs) and shortstop Alex Rodriguez (.349, 20 homers, 69 RBIs). The Mariners also have the league’s third-best team earned-run average (4.45). Angel right-hander Ken Hill, sidelined since May 10 because of a strained rib-cage muscle, is scheduled to return Wednesday night.

* Wednesday, 7 p.m.--Ken Hill (3-4, 7.41) vs. Jamie Moyer (6-2, 4.35).

* Thursday, 1 p.m.--Kent Bottenfield (4-6, 5.55) vs. Gil Meche (4-4, 3.50).