A Pleased Fullmer Isn’t Left Hanging

Brad Fullmer walked into the Angel clubhouse Sunday afternoon, dressed in the coat and tie appropriate for the team flight that would follow the game. Before he could loosen his collar, Manager Mike Scioscia and hitting coach Mickey Hatcher summoned Fullmer to a meeting in the manager’s office.

Among Scioscia’s finer qualities, Hatcher said, is the ability to sense when a player might be unhappy and resolve any issues before they develop into problems. Fullmer appeared upset after Saturday’s game, in which he did not start and then was announced as a pinch-hitter but did not get to hit.

Scioscia does not start Fullmer against left-handers. He did not get to hit Saturday, when the A’s summoned a left-handed reliever to face him and Scioscia withdrew Fullmer in favor of right-handed Shawn Wooten.

“This is a team concept,” Hatcher said before the game. “We wanted to keep him positive. We wanted to let him know it’s not about him not being able to face left-handers, because he will.”

And, several hours later, he did. In the seventh inning, with the score tied, 4-4, Fullmer had a terrific at-bat against left-handed reliever Micah Bowie, fouling off five pitches before driving in the go-ahead run on a ground out. He drove in three runs Sunday and leads the Angels with 10 RBIs.

“It’s all good,” Fullmer said. “Communication is a good thing. I’m in a great frame of mind right now.”

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Garret Anderson had three hits Sunday and is batting .542.... One day after a line drive slammed into his upper left arm, Jarrod Washburn rolled up his sleeve and revealed bruises in rings of purple and red. “I got a nice bull’s-eye,” he said. Washburn is expected to make his next start as scheduled Thursday.... In his first rehabilitation start, Aaron Sele made 29 pitches and threw two shutout innings for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. He gave up two hits and struck out one.... Reliever Mark Lukasiewicz, removed from the 40-man roster last week, went unclaimed on waivers and rejoined triple-A Salt Lake.... The A’s are believed to be the first team since the 1995 Angels to include four left-handers in their starting rotation -- Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Ted Lilly and John Halama for the 2003 A’s, Chuck Finley, Mark Langston, Jim Abbott and Brian Anderson for the 1995 Angels.