Washburn’s Injury Isn’t Improving

As Jarrod Washburn’s recovery from a strained ligament in his rib cage stretches into a third week, the Angels must prepare themselves for the increasingly realistic possibility of playing deep into the stretch run without one of their top starters.

“It’s not getting any better,” Washburn said Sunday afternoon before the Angels rallied with three ninth-inning runs to defeat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4. “That’s all you need to know.”

The left-hander played catch Friday but has no further activity scheduled and might require a rehabilitation assignment before rejoining the rotation.

“It’s impossible to tell,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He might come out here in five days, feel great and pitching on the mound in 10. We don’t know. Anything’s possible. We have to deal with what we have right now, and right now he’s not able to pitch for us.”

Ramon Ortiz will make his fourth start in place of Washburn tonight as the Angels try to complete a four-game sweep of the Royals. Since replacing Washburn, Ortiz has gone 0-2 with a 4.79 earned-run average, though he pitched seven innings and yielded three earned runs or fewer in two of the three starts.

Washburn was 10-5 with a 4.83 ERA in 19 starts.

“We’re going to miss Wash because he’s a talented pitcher, but the other guys have to do a good job in his absence,” pitching coach Bud Black said. “Potentially, [Ortiz] can do a great job.”

Said Scioscia: “The five guys we have, our confidence is very high with that group that they can get us to our goal.”

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Although Troy Percival noted that his pitches Saturday were as good as they have been since the first three weeks of the season -- “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen 95, 96 [mph],” he said -- the closer agreed with Scioscia’s decision to use Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth inning Sunday.

“When you’ve got Frankie fresh down there ... it’s about winning ballgames right now,” said Percival, who had recorded saves Friday and Saturday.

Scioscia said he would continue to monitor the workload of Percival, who has sat out 22 games because of inflammation in his right elbow.

“He’s a gamer, and he’s going to take the ball if there’s blood coming out of his arm,” Scioscia said.

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Reserve catcher Josh Paul started his third game in four days for the first time since 2002. “We’re coming up on the September drive, and any time I can get in it’s fun,” said Paul, whose playing time has increased with Bengie Molina on the disabled list because of a broken finger.... Robb Quinlan extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games with a fifth-inning single off pitcher Mike Wood’s ankle.... Garret Anderson has doubled in his last two games, marking his first back-to-back games with extra-base hits since June 13 and 15.... Jeff DaVanon, recovering from a twisted foot suffered in a rehabilitation game at triple-A Salt Lake, could rejoin the Angels as soon as Tuesday, when they open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at Angel Stadium.... Andres Galarraga was two for five with two runs batted in Saturday and is hitting .385 in three games with Salt Lake.