Belcher Impressive in Tuneup

Right-hander Tim Belcher completed his final tuneup before rejoining the Angels, throwing seven shutout innings and giving up four hits, striking out six and walking none for double-A Erie Friday night. Belcher hit 89 mph on the speed gun, and of his 90 pitches, 70 were strikes.

The 38-year-old pitched in the playoffs for the Dodgers (1988), the White Sox (1993) and the Mariners (1995), and Manager Mike Scioscia would love to add his veteran presence to the rotation this month--but only if Belcher can pitch effectively after missing two months because of an elbow injury.

“His experience would be an asset, but he still needs to execute pitches,” Scioscia said. “If we were going with intangibles, we’d have [pitching coach] Bud Black on the mound and [batting instructor] Mickey Hatcher in the outfield. . . . The bottom line is production.”

Belcher could be used out of the bullpen, but with Kent Mercker, Scott Karl and Matt Wise getting rocked in their last starts and the Angels in the thick of the pennant race, Scioscia can’t afford to be too patient with his starting pitchers this month.

Scioscia will evaluate his pitchers after one more turn through the rotation, and if one is deemed to be struggling more than the others, it’s possible Belcher will be plugged into that rotation spot next week.

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Catcher Bengie Molina was glad to see reserve catcher Matt Walbeck return from the disabled list Friday. With Scioscia hesitant to use untested catcher Shawn Wooten in a pennant race, Molina started 10 consecutive games while Walbeck recovered from patella tendinitis.

Walback caught Friday night, and Molina used the day to rest and recover--in the heat of late August, Molina said he has been losing seven or eight pounds a day when he catches, gaining most of the weight back the following day.

“I’ll wear a pair of pants to the park,” Molina said, “and they’ll be too loose to fit me when I leave.”

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Jarrod Washburn, sidelined since Aug. 8 because of a small stress fracture in his left shoulder blade, will throw in the bullpen again today, and he thinks he’s “getting close” to being ready to return.

But Scioscia does not seem eager to rush Washburn or right-hander Seth Etherton, out since Aug. 5 because of shoulder tendinitis, back to the rotation, despite the Angels’ need for pitching down the stretch.

“We’re not looking for a quick fix,” Scioscia said. “We’re not going to risk the long-term careers of two guys we feel are big parts of our future.”

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When Darin Erstad walked and scored on Mo Vaughn’s grand slam in the fifth inning Friday night, he became the first player in Angel history to collect 200 hits and score 100 runs in the same season. . . . Erstad, suffering from a sore left rib cage, started at designated hitter for the seventh straight game Friday and has been unable to throw strong enough to return to left field.

TODAY

ANGELS’

KENT MERCKER

(1-2, 5.71 ERA)

vs.

WHITE SOX’S

JIM PARQUE

(10-6, 4.36 ERA)

Comiskey Park, Chicago, 4 p.m.

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

* Update--Mercker gave up four runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings against the Indians Sunday night but avoided the loss when the Angels came back for a 10-9 victory. Parque, the former UCLA left-hander, is looking for his first career victory over the Angels. After an 8-2 start, Parque is 2-4 with a 5.19 ERA in his last 10 games. White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin, who is batting .290 with 21 homers and 83 RBIs, did not start Friday night’s game because of a deep bruise in his abdomen area.