Molina Is Upset About Collision

Bengie Molina said he wasn’t concerned when Kansas City first baseman Ken Harvey limped off the field Wednesday following a wicked home-plate collision with the Angel catcher because he felt Harvey was trying to injure him.

“If they get hurt trying to hurt me,” Molina said, “I don’t care. That’s the way it is. He was trying to hurt me.”

Harvey slammed into Molina on a delayed double steal in the sixth inning and was called out when the catcher hung onto the ball during the Angels’ 5-3 victory at Edison Field.

Molina said Harvey told him, “No hard feelings,” when Molina reached first base in the seventh after grounding out. Molina said he didn’t respond.

“This is my life here, my career possibly ending on that play,” Molina said.

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Aaron Sele, who has two victories and 10 shutout innings in his last two starts, appears on the verge of having his five-inning limit lifted.

The Angel starter will pitch no more than five innings today against the Royals, as dictated by Manager Mike Scioscia. But Scioscia acknowledged that he is on the brink of allowing Sele to pitch as many innings as the right-hander can as long as he remains effective.

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Molina will not join teammates Garret Anderson, Troy Glaus and Brendan Donnelly in Chicago on July 15 after the Angel catcher finished fifth in Internet voting to decide the American League’s final All-Star representative.

Boston catcher Jason Varitek, hitting .300 with 15 home runs and 54 runs batted in, won by a narrow margin over Chicago’s Frank Thomas in voting that ended Wednesday.

“I’m happy for Jason,” said Molina, who is hitting .290 with nine homers and 47 RBIs . “He’s a hard-working guy. He deserves it.”

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David Eckstein, hampered by shoulder injuries, sat out a second consecutive game and might not return until after the All-Star break. Scioscia said the shortstop could play as a reserve during the series against Minnesota that starts Friday.

Eckstein said he is not experiencing pain but that the range of motion in his shoulder is limited.

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Troy Glaus played his 750th game at third base, breaking Doug DeCinces’ Angel record of 749 games at the position.