Escobar May Not Be Ready by Saturday

Kelvim Escobar is penciled in to start Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, but the right-hander appears doubtful because of a split fingernail on the middle finger of his pitching hand.

Escobar, who suffered the injury against Oakland on Saturday, had hoped to throw in the bullpen Wednesday, but that session was canceled because of Escobar’s discomfort after playing long toss.

Escobar was originally scheduled to start today against the Twins, but Manager Mike Scioscia pushed him back to Saturday, hoping that the extra day would give Escobar’s fingernail enough time to heal. But it appears that Kevin Gregg or Aaron Sele will start.

“We’ll see how he is [today], but I don’t want him to alter his mechanics because of the fingernail and have that possibly affect his arm,” Scioscia said. “These things can go either way. They can heal pretty quickly or they can linger.”

Gregg appears to have the edge over Sele if the Angels need a spot starter. The right-hander has an 0.59 earned-run average in 15 1/3 innings. He relieved Ben Weber and escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth inning Tuesday night.

Sele has given up only one earned run in seven innings in his last three appearances and has a 15-4 career record and 3.47 ERA against the Twins.

“Kevin’s been great, and Aaron has been terrific the last few outings, the ball is really coming out of his hand well,” Scioscia said. “We have two good options.”

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The Angels begin a three-game series today in the Metrodome, where the Twins have replaced their concrete-like artificial surface with FieldTurf, the new-era surface that is softer and more grass-like.

Several players have complained that the surface is too soft, and center fielder Torii Hunter suffered a leg injury in the first week of the season, “but I don’t care how bad it is -- it can’t be any worse than it was before,” Scioscia said.

Scioscia has never been a big fan of the Metrodome, where players often lose fly balls in the dingy roof and a speaker hanging from the ceiling can rob a player of a home run.

A few years ago, ex-Angel Mo Vaughn crushed a ball that appeared headed for the upper deck, but it hit a speaker, landed behind second base and was ruled a single.

“When you have to have ground rules for things in play, it reminds you of playing in your backyard, or in your driveway,” Scioscia said. “Off the neighbor’s car, it’s fair; off the other car, it’s a ground-rule double. It’s like Arena baseball.”

Angel first baseman Darin Erstad kind of liked the old turf. “I liked that surface -- my ground balls went through,” Erstad said. “I’ll put up with three days of back pain for that.”

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The Angels went three games in Detroit without using closer Troy Percival or set-up man Francisco Rodriguez, which was nothing new for Percival. In the five years the Tigers have played in Comerica Park, Percival has thrown 6 2/3 innings. “I come here for moral support,” Percival said.... The Angels sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the fourth inning Thursday, their biggest inning of the year. They have scored four runs or more in an inning eight times.... Third baseman Troy Glaus knocked in a run with a fourth-inning grounder Thursday and has 20 RBIs this month, one shy of Fred Lynn’s franchise record of 21 RBIs in April, set in 1983.... Shortstop David Eckstein, who suffered a groin strain Tuesday night, expects to return this weekend.

ON DECK

Opponent -- Minnesota Twins, three games.

Site -- Metrodome, Minneapolis.

TV -- Channel 9 tonight and Saturday night, Fox Sports Net Sunday.

Radio -- KSPN (710), KTNQ (1020).

Records -- 13-9, Twins 14-7.

2003 record vs. Twins -- 5-4.

Tonight, 5 -- Ramon Ortiz (1-2, 9.77) vs. Carlos Silva (3-0, 4.50).

Saturday, 4 p.m. -- Kelvim Escobar (1-1, 4.76) vs. Brad Radke (2-2, 5.46).

Sunday, 11 a.m. -- John Lackey (1-3, 6.85) vs. Johan Santana (1-0, 5.40).