Wise OK, but Sent to Minors

Matt Wise has had better days. He underwent medical tests Friday morning and more tests late in the afternoon. In between, the Angels sent him back to the minor leagues.

“And I woke up at 5 a.m. to an earthquake,” he said.

Wise has his health, and for that he is grateful. After he got a bloody nose warming up for Thursday’s game and left in the second inning complaining of dizziness and blurred vision, doctors administered a battery of tests Friday, including an MRI, EKG, treadmill stress test and various blood tests. So far, doctors have told Wise they cannot determine the cause of his episode but that he need not worry about it.

“It was just a freaky thing,” he said.

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In addition to Wise, the Angels sent infielders Larry Barnes and Jose Nieves to triple-A Salt Lake. The moves cleared roster spots for second baseman Adam Kennedy, activated from the disabled list, and pitchers Brian Cooper and Mark Lukasiewicz, promoted from Salt Lake to bolster a tired bullpen. Angel relievers pitched eight innings Thursday and totaled 14 2/3 innings in the three-game series against Texas.

Kennedy started Friday. Rookie David Eckstein, who hit .406 in nine games while Kennedy rehabilitated a broken finger, displaced Nieves as the utility infielder. Cooper’s stay was a short one. He was sent back down after the game to make room for pitcher Ismael Valdes, scheduled to start tonight. Lukasiewicz will likely be sent down for pitcher Jarrod Washburn, scheduled to start Monday.

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The Angels might resurrect the halo on their caps next season.

The Disney-designed caps and jerseys, first worn in 1997, have not been popular sellers. The team is considering removing the angel wing from the cap and jersey, changing the cap from blue to red and restoring the halo atop the “A” on the cap.

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With thousands of Japanese tourists and Japanese-American fans on hand for the local debut of Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, the Angels’ Shigetoshi Hasegawa taped a video greeting played before the game. Hasegawa spoke in Japanese, with English subtitles, as he welcomed Japanese fans and Suzuki, his former teammate on the Orix Blue Wave.

“Ichiro, we used to be teammates but we face each other today as opponents,” Hasegawa said. “Good luck after you leave.”

TONIGHT

ANGELS’ ISMAEL VALDES

(0-0, 0.00 ERA)

vs.

MARINERS’ FREDDY GARCIA

(0-0, 6.75 ERA)

Edison Field, 7

TV--Fox Sports Net.

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

* Update--Valdes, who started the season on the ddisabled list because of a split fingernail, makes his Angel debut after going 0-2 with a 9.58 earned-run average in spring training.

* Tickets--(714) 663-9000.