Colon Will Remain in Rotation

The Angels announced Sunday they were sticking with their $51-million man, refusing to move ineffective starter Bartolo Colon to the bullpen despite the fact that the right-hander is 2-7 in his last 13 starts and his 6.57 earned-run average is the worst among regular starters in the American League.

Colon met with Manager Mike Scioscia, pitching coach Bud Black and the Angel catchers before the Angels played the Dodgers at Angel Stadium to discuss adjustments Colon, who in December signed a four-year, $51-million contract, could make to get back on track.

“These are a lot of things that we have talked about before,” Black said. “We wanted to make sure we addressed them again to make sure that everybody understood what we thought needed to be done.”

Scioscia and Black declined to discuss the adjustments they asked Colon to make, but they previously noted that Colon had shortened his stride because of an ankle injury. After he gave up seven runs in four innings Saturday in an 8-5 loss to the Dodgers that dropped his record to 5-8, Colon insisted that neither his ankle nor his confidence was bothering him.

“Physically and mentally, I feel fine,” said Colon, who has surrendered a league-high 26 home runs. “Every time I show up to pitch, I come with the mentality to win the ballgame.”

That hasn’t happened nearly as often as the Angels would like, and Scioscia said the team had considered putting Colon on a five-inning limit as it had with Aaron Sele last season while Sele recovered from off-season shoulder surgery.

The drawbacks to employing a similar tactic with Colon, Scioscia said, are that Colon typically gets stronger as a game progresses and that the Angels need Colon to pitch as many innings as he can to keep their bullpen fresh.

The most obvious solution would be to replace Colon in the rotation with Ramon Ortiz, who has pitched effectively in relief since being removed from the rotation in early May. Ortiz’s 4.18 ERA is lower than those of Colon, John Lackey (5.02) and Jarrod Washburn (5.07), whose ERAs also rank in the league’s bottom nine among regular starters.

“Our goal is to get Bartolo pitching the way he’s capable of, and we’re hoping he’s going to get there,” said Scioscia, who confirmed that Colon would make his next start Friday against Toronto. “Right now, we’re very, very confident that Bartolo is going to get back.”

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Although Edwin Jackson left Saturday’s game in the second inning because of discomfort in his pitching arm, the Dodgers expect him to start as scheduled Thursday.

The Dodgers have ordered a precautionary MRI examination today or Tuesday, Manager Jim Tracy said. But Jackson reported no pain after playing catch Sunday.

The Dodgers listed the injury as a mild elbow strain, although Jackson pointed to a spot on the inside of his right forearm as the source of the discomfort. Jackson said he experienced no pain, tightness, pinching or cramping before he summoned trainers to the mound Saturday, just a feeling he described as “scary” and “weird.”

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The Dodgers are concerned about outfielder Juan Encarnacion, who did not play Sunday because of soreness in his left shoulder. He is scheduled to see Dodger physician Frank Jobe today. Tracy said recurrent soreness that has bothered Encarnacion throughout the season has flared to where he is visibly uncomfortable on the field.

Reliever Paul Shuey, on a rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Las Vegas, injured his right hip Saturday while fielding a bunt. Tracy said Shuey would remain with Las Vegas for now, pending further evaluation of the injury.

Shuey has yet to pitch this season after tearing a thumb tendon in spring training.

ON DECK

Opponent -- Arizona Diamondbacks, three games.

Site -- Dodger Stadium.

TV -- Fox Sports Net 2, all games.

Radio -- KFWB (980), KWKW (1330).

Records -- Dodgers 42-37, Diamondbacks 30-52.

Record vs. Diamondbacks -- 4-2.

Tonight, 5 -- Wilson Alvarez (2-3, 3.69) vs. Brandon Webb (3-8, 3.82).

Tuesday, 7 p.m. -- Jose Lima (6-3, 4.73) vs. Casey Fossum (2-6, 5.68).

Wednesday, 7 p.m. -- Kazuhisa Ishii (9-4, 4.39) vs. Steve Sparks (3-4, 5.24).