Surgery Ruled Out as Mercker Expected to Go Home Tuesday

At UCI Medical Center since May 11, the night he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, pitcher Kent Mercker probably will be released Tuesday, according to team officials.

Doctors have ruled out surgery in the short term, but have not discovered a cause for the bleeding between Mercker’s brain and skull, which has since stopped.

Club officials said they are unaware if Mercker, 32, has been told when--or if--he will be allowed to pitch again.

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Right-hander Brian Cooper is scheduled to start Tuesday in Minnesota.

Cooper, who made five big-league starts last season, is 3-4 with a 5.74 earned-run average in eight starts for triple-A Edmonton.

He had a poor spring training and started the same in triple-A Edmonton, but recently rediscovered the sinker that allowed him to advance from double-A Erie to Anaheim last year.

Cooper will be followed by Scott Schoeneweis on Wednesday, Al Levine on Thursday, Kent Bottenfield on Friday in Kansas City and Jarrod Washburn on Saturday.

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Diagnosed Saturday with viral syndrome, Mark Petkovsek will not accompany the team to Minnesota.

The right-handed reliever was reevaluated Sunday afternoon by team physician Craig Milhouse and sent home to rest. Petkovsek complained of flu-like symptoms when he arrived at the ballpark Friday.

He will rejoin the club when he is feeling better, probably at the end of the week, according to team officials.

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This wasn’t Garret Anderson’s first brush with grand-slam fortune.

His third-inning grand slam was the sixth in the big leagues Sunday, a big-league record for one day that he’ll share with the Dodgers’ Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green, Philadelphia’s Brian Hunter, San Francisco’s J.T. Snow and Oakland’s Jason Giambi.

Four seasons ago, Anderson hit the grand slam that set the major-league record for grand slams in a season. He hit No. 124 on Aug. 29, 1996 against the New York Yankees. The bat and ball were sent to the Hall of Fame.

Anderson has four grand slams in his career, two against the Royals.

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It comes as little surprise that the grand slam record would fall at Edison Field, where the Angels and Royals combined to hit five more home runs Sunday.

In 28 games there have been 93 home runs hit at Edison Field. The average of 3.3 per game leads the American League and is second in baseball to Enron Field’s 3.63.

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Ken Hill, disabled since May 10 because of a strained muscle on his right side, threw in the outfield Sunday and reported encouraging progress.

“I can tolerate the sneezing now,” Hill said, smiling.

Hill said he hoped to return to a big-league mound by mid-June, though doctors and trainers have not given him a timetable for recovery.

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Former Angel Chuck Finley is on schedule to pitch against Anaheim on May 30 at Cleveland’s Jacobs Field, assuming he stays on regular rest. Finley is 3-3 with a 3.84 earned-run average in his first season in Cleveland after 14 seasons in Anaheim. He has lost his last three decisions.

After today’s off day, the Angels embark on a nine-day, three-city trip through Minnesota, Kansas City and Cleveland.