Etherton’s Debut Friday

Less than two years removed from his final season at USC, pitcher Seth Etherton will make his major league debut Friday night when he starts for the Angels against the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium.

The Angels didn’t officially announce Etherton’s promotion from triple A, but the right-hander traveled from Edmonton to Minneapolis on Wednesday and will join the team today.

Right-hander Al Levine, who started in place of the injured Jason Dickson on Saturday, will return to the bullpen, and the Angels will send a reliever to Edmonton to make room for Etherton, who helped USC win the College World Series title in 1998.

Etherton, 23, the Angels’ first-round pick (18th overall) in 1998, ascended quickly through the farm system, going 1-5 with a 6.14 earned-run average in nine games for double-A Midland in 1998 and 10-10 with a 3.27 ERA and 153 strikeouts for double-A Erie in 1999.

A control specialist, Etherton was 2-2 with a 4.43 ERA in seven starts for Edmonton this season. He struck out 40 and walked 11 in 42 2/3 innings.

With Etherton, the injury-ravaged Angels now have a rotation consisting of veteran Kent Bottenfield and youngsters Brian Cooper, Jarrod Washburn, Scott Schoeneweis and Etherton.

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The Angels signed veteran pitcher Scott Sanders to a minor league contract Wednesday and assigned the 31-year-old right-hander to Edmonton.

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Not even pitching coach Bud Black could avoid the injury bug that has plagued the team. Black was hit in the left side of the neck by a foul ball hit by Jay Canizaro in the first inning Wednesday night, suffering a bruise that sent Black into the trainers room for three innings. The injury is not believed to be serious.

TODAY

ANGELS’

SCOTT SCHOENEWEIS

(4-2, 5.46 ERA)

vs.

TWINS’

BRAD RADKE

(3-4, 4.22 ERA)

Metrodome, Minneapolis

10 a.m. PDT

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