Percival Didn’t Want to Stop

Troy Percival acknowledged Wednesday that he pitched several weeks longer than he should have with pain in his throwing arm in an effort to notch his 300th career save. The Angel closer, four saves short of reaching the milestone, was placed on the disabled list Sunday because of what has been diagnosed as a strained right forearm.

Percival said the team’s medical staff “saw what was going on early and tried to slow me down, and I’m like, ‘No, I’m fine, I’m fine.’ I probably should have taken a step back three or four weeks ago and maybe taken four or five days off. That might have kept me from doing this, and that’s my fault.”

Percival said he was relieved that tests revealed no damage to his medial collateral ligament, which had necessitated Tommy John surgery in 1993.

“It’s good news that it wasn’t the ligament that I thought it was,” Percival said. “Any time I have to sit out four weeks I’m not happy, but it’s definitely better than having to ... get cut on.”

Percival said he felt the arm “burn and pop a little bit” during an outing May 22 against Baltimore before the pain intensified on a pitch to Toronto’s Vernon Wells four days later. Percival’s most recent outing was June 1, when he recorded his 13th save despite yielding a two-run homer to Boston’s Brian Daubach.

“The home run to Daubach was supposed to be a brushback pitch and it’s right down the middle,” said Percival, noting that the pain contributed to his wildness. “When you’re in the big leagues and that’s the command you have, you’re going to struggle.”

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Outfielder Raul Mondesi was put on the 15-day disabled list after an MRI exam revealed a torn thigh muscle, and there was no timetable for the return of a player who signed a one-year, $1.75-million contract only 11 days ago.

Mondesi played all 17 innings of the Angels’ 1-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, grounding out to end the game. He was 0 for 7 and is hitting .118 with one home run and one run batted in in eight games with the Angels.

Center fielder Garret Anderson, who on Wednesday played in a third rehabilitation game with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, could be activated as soon as today. Anderson has been on the disabled list since April 22 because of early inflammatory arthritis in his upper back.

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Darin Erstad was scheduled to fly Wednesday night to Salt Lake City, where he is to begin a rehabilitation assignment today with the triple-A Stingers. He hopes to rejoin the Angels as soon as Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

The first baseman, on the disabled list since May 9, said that his strained right hamstring had responded positively to two days of aggressive workouts but that he needed to test himself against live pitching before rejoining the Angels. Erstad is wearing a custom brace “to give some stability to the right knee and the whole leg.”

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Two of the Angels’ top draft picks will not be allowed to play in the minor league system this summer. The federal government has informed major league officials that no new work visas will be issued to foreign-born players this summer, so the Angels cannot place eighth-round pick Freddy Sandoval (Tijuana) or ninth-round pick Hainley Statia (Curacao) in rookie ball.

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Bengie Molina (strained left calf) and David Eckstein (strained right hamstring) each sat out a fourth consecutive game, but Manager Mike Scioscia said Eckstein should be back in the lineup today.... Scioscia moved Adam Kennedy, hitting .087 in seven games in June before Wednesday, to second in the batting order for the first time this season. He was 0 for 5.

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Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.