Nothing Ails Ortiz When He’s on Mound

Ramon Ortiz spent part of Monday morning in a Scottsdale doctor’s office, where his sore throat, fever and fatigue were diagnosed as a touch of bronchitis.

Then the Angel right-hander spent Monday afternoon pitching one of his best games of the spring, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out 10 and walking one in a 5-3 exhibition victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Tempe Diablo Stadium.

“We’re going to have all the pitchers hang out with Ramon tonight, hoping they catch what he had and pitch like he did,” Manager Mike Scioscia joked afterward. “When he came in this morning, I didn’t think he had much chance of pitching. But he felt fine after resting and threw a heck of a game.”

Ortiz usually runs into problems when he tries to overthrow or gets too excited. Scioscia said the fatigue caused by the illness might have relaxed Ortiz, who threw 90 pitches and struck out Geoff Jenkins and Jeffrey Hammonds three times each.

“Sometimes when you’re feeling too strong, you try to throw the ball through a brick wall,” Scioscia said. “But Ramon stayed within himself, got some left-handers to swing under some pitches and changed speeds well. That’s how you pitch.”

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Scott Schoeneweis said he was “overwhelmed” by his selection as the Angels’ opening-day starter a week from today, when the left-hander will face a powerful Texas Ranger lineup that includes Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Ivan Rodriguez at Arlington, Texas.

“Of all the places to have an opening-day start, with that lineup and all the chaos that will be going on . . . it’s going to be exciting,” Schoeneweis said. “There’ll be a million fans there because of A-Rod.”

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A second blood test to determine whether pitcher Jarrod Washburn has mononucleosis was negative, Washburn said.

Jose Canseco’s hamstring, back and neck were packed in ice after Monday’s game, and the designated hitter said he was “really sore,” but there was no cause for alarm. “I ice my back after every game as a precaution,” he said.

David Eckstein is expected to open at second base in place of the injured Adam Kennedy, but Scioscia has been giving him a few more innings at shortstop in hopes of molding him into a utility player when Kennedy returns.