Angels’ Mercker Out of Hospital

Angel pitcher Kent Mercker was released from UCI Medical Center in Orange on Tuesday afternoon, 12 days after he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on the mound at Edison Field.

Mercker has scheduled a conference call with reporters for today. He is expected to announce that he will soon begin a slow rehabilitation program he hopes will allow him to pitch again this season.

It is believed that Mercker will remain in Orange County for several more days, then return to his Dublin, Ohio, home for a brief period. Teammates are hopeful he can make the drive to Cleveland when the club arrives at Jacobs Field on Monday for a three-game series.

Mercker, 32, made 12 appearances for the Angels before he was stricken on May 11. The left-hander was early into his second start when he began to bleed between his brain and his skull.

Doctors believed surgery was unnecessary. A specific cause for the bleeding was not determined.