Guillen a Tough Man to Take Out

Getting left fielder Jose Guillen to talk about an injury is like getting General Manager Bill Stoneman to discuss a potential trade. It takes prodding, prying, some gnashing of teeth, and even then, there’s no guarantee any light will be shed on the subject.

When asked why he wasn’t in the lineup Sunday for only the second time in 62 games, Guillen said, “I’m just having a day off, that’s it.”

Told that Manager Mike Scioscia said Guillen was “a little banged up,” Guillen chuckled. “Everything is fine, don’t worry,” he said. “Maybe I’ll just sit with Joe Maddon today and learn how to be a bench coach.”

But when presented with evidence that he banged his right knee into a wall while chasing a fly ball and jammed the same knee going back to first base in the Milwaukee series this past week, Guillen decided to fess up.

“I had an MRI [test] Saturday afternoon,” Guillen said. “The last few days, it’s been pretty sore.”

The Angels were concerned Guillen might have suffered ligament or cartilage damage, but the test did not reveal any abnormalities, and Guillen was able to pinch hit Sunday, striking out on a 98-mph Kyle Farnsworth fastball with two on to end the eighth inning with the score tied, 4-4.

Still, for Guillen to come out of the lineup meant he had to be in pain. This is a guy who played the first month of the season with an extremely sore left wrist after getting hit by a pitch twice in the first week of April.

Guillen also wrenched his knee sliding into second against Tampa Bay on May 9 and was carted off the field on a stretcher. Three days later, Guillen had two hits, including a home run, against the New York Yankees.

Guillen, who is batting .300 with 11 home runs and 46 runs batted in, needed treatment in early June for a sore left side after getting hit by a pitch, and he played Friday and Saturday with a sore knee.

“Every player has aches and pains,” Scioscia said. “What’s happened to Jose this season has been way beyond that, but this guy comes to play.”

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Reliever Brendan Donnelly, who hadn’t pitched in a game in more than a month, resumed his rehabilitation assignment for triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday and had mixed results.

The right-hander walked the first batter he faced, struck out the second batter, gave up two doubles for a run and then struck out the next two batters in one inning of work.

Donnelly will pitch another inning for Salt Lake on Tuesday and hopes to be activated later this week.

First baseman Darin Erstad went hitless in five at-bats, drove in a run and committed an error that led to three unearned runs for Salt Lake on Sunday. Erstad was activated after Sunday’s game and Casey Kotchman, as expected, was sent to Salt Lake.

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Third base prospect Dallas McPherson had two hits, including a home run, and six RBIs for double-A Arkansas on Saturday, extending his streak of games with a home run to four.

McPherson has 14 homers and 42 RBIs in his last 23 games and is batting .329 with 18 homers and 65 RBIs in 61 games.

Reliever Ben Weber, demoted to triple A on June 5, gave up six earned runs, five hits and a walk in the seventh inning Saturday night. The right-hander has given up eight runs, six earned, in 1 2/3 innings of two appearances at Salt Lake.

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Second baseman Adam Kennedy’s error in the fifth inning Sunday was his seventh of the season, more than he had in all of 2003. ... Closer Troy Percival, on the disabled list because of an inflamed elbow, hopes to begin a throwing program Thursday that will put him on a course to return in early July. ... Shortstop David Eckstein (tender right hamstring) did not start Sunday, but he was able to pinch-hit in the eighth, drawing a walk, stealing second and scoring on Vladimir Guerrero’s single.